Case law

Custom, Excise & Service Tax Tribunal · 6 Jan 2026

Jms Mining Pvt Ltd vs Commissioner Of Customs-Indore

Legal principle

A private bonded warehouse licence under section 58 can be cancelled under section 58B only if the licensee violates the Act, Rules or a condition of the licence — the Commissioner cannot review his own or his predecessor's decision to grant it, and 'other operations' under MOOWR, 2019 include mining and services, not manufacture alone.

Court decision

The Tribunal set aside both cancellation orders and allowed both appeals with consequential relief to the appellant, holding that a section 58 licence is valid until cancelled and section 58B can be invoked only if the licensee violates the Act, Rules or licence conditions; that 'other operations' under MOOWR, 2019 include mining and do not exclude any service; and that the Commissioner has no power to review his own or his predecessor's grant, the Revenue's remedy being review under section 129D and appeal to the Tribunal.

Facts

M/s JMS Mining Pvt. Ltd., a contractor engaged by Western Coalfields Ltd. and Southern Coalfields Ltd. (it did not own the mines), was granted private bonded warehouse licences under section 58 of the Customs Act, 1962 along with permissions under the MOOWR, 2019 for two mine sites (Chhatarpur/Pathakhera in Madhya Pradesh and Churcha in Chhattisgarh), where it imported mining equipment and used it to mine coal. On 24.04.2025 the Principal Commissioner of Customs, Indore issued cancellation notices under section 58B, and on 17.06.2025 cancelled both licences and MOOWR permissions. The cancellation rested on grounds that the premises did not meet the 'private warehouse' definition, the appellant neither owned the premises nor had access control/secure storage capability, the mine area was too vast for Customs supervision, the operation was a service not permissible under the MOOWR scheme, and resultant goods had to be capable of removal for home consumption or export.

Key provisions