Case law

Custom, Excise & Service Tax Tribunal · 2 Sep 2026

M/S M.Y. Impex vs Commissioner Of Customs -Nagpur

Legal principle

Provisional release of seized goods under Section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962 is a discretionary power of the adjudicating authority, and the Tribunal will not interfere with refusal of provisional release of absolutely prohibited imports (such as Pakistan-origin goods mis-declared as UAE origin in the interest of national security) where due process, including extension of time and issue of show cause notice, has been followed.

Court decision

The Tribunal dismissed the appellant-importer's appeal seeking provisional release of the seized goods, holding it not legally sustainable and finding no merits or case for interference with the adjudicating authority's order; the Revenue's miscellaneous application was also dismissed (as was the appeal, per the operative direction).

Facts

M/s M.Y. Impex, a Mumbai proprietorship firm, imported 2,85,000 kgs of 'Dry Dates' in ten containers from M/s Tawarikh Trading L.L.C., Dubai, declaring the country of origin as UAE under CTI 0804 1030. DRI intelligence indicated the goods were actually of Pakistani origin, shipped from Karachi and de-stuffed and re-stuffed at Jebel Ali, Dubai, to mis-declare UAE origin and circumvent the import prohibition imposed by DGFT Notification No. 06/2025-26 dated 02.05.2025. Based on enquiries confirming the containers originated from Karachi, the goods were seized under seizure memo dated 06.10.2025. The appellant's application dated 08.06.2026 for provisional release of the seized goods was rejected by the Commissioner of Customs, Nagpur, prompting this appeal before the Tribunal. During the appeal, the department communicated extension of the SCN time-limit on 25.02.2026 and issued the show cause notice on 12.08.2026.

Key provisions