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2026 Supreme(Online)(CESTAT) 2198
IN THE CUSTOMS, EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL EASTERN ZONAL BENCH : KOLKATA
R Muralidhar, Judicial Member, Rajeev Tandon, Technical Member
MS GENERAL AGENCIES KOLKKATA PVT LTD – Appellant
Versus
KOLKATA-PORT – Respondent
Customs Appeal No. 76208 of 2024
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Biswajit Mukherjee, Shovendu Banerjee, Soumyajit Mishra
For the Respondents: S. Debnath
Penalties under Section 112(a) and 114AA of the Customs Act, 1962, cannot be imposed when an importer acts in good faith by submitting certificates from authorized agencies, and the failure to detect a specific certification requirement is an error on the part of the Revenue.
Headnote:The appellant imported Kerosene Generator Sets under CTH 85023990, submitting Emission Certificates from an authorized agency, Envirotech East Pvt. Ltd., as per Notification GSR 535(E) dated 07.08.2013. The Revenue subsequently issued a Show Cause Notice alleging incorrect classification under CTH 85022090 and failure to provide a 'Type Approval' certificate, leading to penalties under Section 112(a)(i) and Section 114AA of the Customs Act, 1962. The core issue was whether the failure to provide a specific 'Type Approval' certificate, despite submitting a certificate from a notified agency and technical specifications meeting noise level standards, warranted penalties for suppression or incorrect documentation. The court reasoned that since the documents were submitted at the time of import and the goods were cleared by Customs officials, the failure to detect the specific certificate type was a lapse by the Revenue, not an act of concealment by the appellant. Hence, the present application is allowed.
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IN THE CUSTOMS, EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONAL BENCH : KOLKATA
REGIONAL BENCH – COURT NO. 2
Customs Appeal No. 76208 of 2024
(Arising out of Order-in-Appeal No.KOL/CUS/PORT/KS/388/2024 dated 24.06.2024
passed by Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata)
M/s. General Agencies (Kolkata) Pvt. Ltd. : Appellant
24 N.S. Road, 1st Floor, Room Nos. 15 and 16, Kolkata-700001.
VERSUS
Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Kolkata :
3rd Floor, Custom House, 15/1, Strand Road, Kolkata-700 001. Respondent
APPEARANCE:
Shri Biswajit Mukherjee, Shri Shovendu Banerjee, Shri Soumyajit Mishra,
Advocatesfor the Appellant
Shri S.Debnath, Authorized Representative for the Respondent
CORAM:
HON’BLE SHRI R.MURALIDHAR, MEMBER (JUDICIAL)
HON’BLE SHRI RAJEEV TANDON, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)
FINAL ORDER NO. 75739/ 2026
DATE OF HEARING:16.06.2026
DATE OF DECISION:19.06.2026
Order : [Per Shri R.MURALIDHAR]
The appellant imported „Kerosene Generator Sets‟
adopting CTH 85023990 for classification of the
imported goods, for which Bill of Entry No. 8585641
dated 25/08/2020 was filed. They also enclosed all
the relevant documents alongwith Emission
Certificate issued by Envirotech East Pvt. Ltd.
[Envirotech for short] laboratory, Ministry of
Environment. Similarly one more consignment was
imported on 26.10.2021 and along with all the
documents including the Emission
Certificate[Environment Certificates] were
submitted.After due verification of the Bills of Entry
and the other documents including the Environment
Certificates, the Customs officers allowed the
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Appeal No.: C/76208/2024-DB
consignment to be cleared for home consumption.
Subsequently, on 19.01.2023 a Show Cause Notice
was issued alleging that the classification is required
to be done under CTH 85022090 instead of CTH
85023990. The Show Cause Notice also alleged that
the certificate issued was not in conformity with the
conditions given under the Notification. After due
process, the Adjudicating Authority held that the
goods are required to be classified under CTH
85022090. He also imposed a penalty of Rs.
1500000 under Section 112(a)(i) and Rs.
25,00,000/- under Section 114AA of the Customs
Act, 1962.Being aggrieved, the appellant filed their
appeal before the Commissioner (Appeal) who has
dismissed the same. Therefore, the appellant is
before the Tribunal.
3. The Ld. Advocate appearing on behalf of the
appellant makes the following submissions.
3. With reference to the relevant Notification issued
by Ministry of Environment is GSR 535 (E) dated 7th
August, 2013, he takes us through to page no. 51 &
52 of the appeal paper book. He submits that the
“Emission standards” and the noise level standards
are specified in this notification. He then takes us to
Notification dated 15.11.2018 giving details of the
empanelled firms which are authorized to take up
the necessary tests and to issue the environment
certificate. He points out that the certificate in
respect of the goods imported by the appellant,
have been issued by the M/s. Envirotech East Pvt.
Ltd., who are listed at Sl No. 31 of the Notification
dated 15.11.2018. He also takes us through to the
certificate issued by this firmon closed at Page 62 of
the appeal book.
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Appeal No.: C/76208/2024-DB
4. He submits that the certificate issued was
submitted alongwith other documents to the
Customs officials at the time of imports. Only after
thorough verification of all the documents, the Bills
of Entry were assessed and the goods allowed to be
cleared. He also submits that apart from filing the
certificate from Envirotech, they have also submitted
the Quality Report issued by the manufacturer
Yancheng Slong Machinery & Electric Co. Ltd.
[enclosed at Page 63 of the appeal book], wherein all
the technical specifications have been given.
5. He submits that a harmonious reading of the
Notifications and Certificate issued by the Envirotech
and Technical Specification certified by the
manufacturer would clarify that the imported goods
meet all the conditions set under notification No.
GSR 535(E) dated 07.0
