While directing the release of the detained jewellery to the petitioner, the Delhi High Court recently ruled that the used jewellery worn by a passenger, falling within the ambit of personal effects in terms of the Baggage Rules, 1998, would be exempt from detention by the Customs Department. The Court also referred to Rule 2(vi) read with Rule 3 of the Baggage Rules, 2016, to emphasize that the petitioner would be permitted clearance of articles, free of duty in their bona fide baggage, including used personal effects.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Pratibha M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that used gold jewellery worn by a passenger would fall within the ambit of personal effects. Reference was made to the decision of the Apex court in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence v. Pushpa Lekhumal Tolani, (2017) 16 SCC 93, where, while considering the Customs Act, 1962, read with the Baggage Rules, 1998, it was held that jewellery cannot be completely excluded from the ambit of ‘personal effects’.
In this case, a gold chain weighing 45 grams worn by the petitioner was detained by the Customs Department at the IGI Airport while he was traveling from Bangkok to New Delhi. Since July 29, 2018, the detention receipt was issued to the petitioner; however, neither an appraisal of the gold chain has been done to date, nor has any show cause notice (SCN) been issued to the petitioner. Hence, the petitioner was constrained to approach the High Court seeking the release of the gold chain.
The High Court referred to Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, to observe that once the goods are detained, it is mandatory to issue a SCN and afford a personal hearing to the petitioner. Since one year has elapsed without the issuance of any SCN, the Court set aside the detention, holding it as impermissible.
Appearances:
Advocates Parminder Singh Sandhu, Mayank Ahuja, Pradeep Chaurasia, and Abhishek Sharma, for the Petitioner
Advocate Arun Khatri, for the Respondent
Note: Under Baggage Rules, 2016, Rule 2 (vi) defines “personal effects” as things required for satisfying daily necessities but does not include jewellery .