Case law

Custom, Excise & Service Tax Tribunal · 7 Sep 2026

Maruti Fabric Impex vs Ce & Cgst Noida

Legal principle

A written acceptance of value enhancement waives only the limited procedural right to a speaking order under Section 17(5) and, there being no estoppel against a statute, cannot foreclose the importer's statutory right of appeal against the reassessment under Section 128 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Court decision

The Tribunal allowed all the appeals and set aside the impugned Orders-in-Appeal with consequential relief, holding that the written acceptance of the reassessed value amounted at most to a waiver of the speaking order under Section 17(5) and could not foreclose the importer's independent statutory right of appeal under Section 128; the issue was squarely covered by the Delhi High Court's decision in Niraj Silk Mills.

Facts

M/s Maruti Fabric Impex, a regular importer of polyester knitted fabrics, imported 26 consignments from China at ICD Dadri between 07.06.2019 and 07.08.2019, declaring transaction value at USD 1.35 per kg per the foreign supplier's invoices; the goods on examination conformed to the Bills of Entry with no allegation as to description, quantity or nature. No Out of Charge orders were passed, and the importer's written requests for provisional clearance on enhanced value under protest went unheeded, after which it was, according to the appellant, coerced into submitting letters of consent to assessment on enhanced value. Customs discarded the declared transaction value and reassessed under Section 17(4) solely on the basis of the written consent, without passing speaking orders. The Commissioner (Appeals) rejected all 26 appeals, holding that written acceptance of the enhancement made a speaking order under Section 17(5) unnecessary and the reassessed value binding.

Key provisions