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2023 (2) TMI 490 - CESTAT CHENNAILevy of penalty on CHA under Section 114 of the Customs Act, 1962 - CHA, abetting in the attempt to export the restricted goods by misclassifying the goods - HELD THAT:- The appellant as a CHA cannot be expected to examine and ensure the nature of the goods in the consignment. In para-65 of the impugned order, the adjudicating authority has observed that when the test report mentioned that the samples are naturally occurring Potassium Chloride, the CHA ought to have classified the goods under ITC HS 31042000; and they ought to have not assisted the exporter in misdeclaring the goods as ITC HS as 28273990. The classification is not mentioned in the test reports. The main reason for imposing penalty on the appellants is that they did not ensure correct classification of the goods so as to see whether the goods are restricted items. The original authority has held that the appellant has abetted in the attempt to export restricted goods as they did not exercise due diligence to ascertain the correctness of the information imparted by their client. There is no allegation or evidence to establish that the appellant had indulged in any overt act or played any role in any manner so to assist the exporter in his attempt to export the goods. The issue of classification is of complex nature. The Tribunal in the case of HIM Logistics Pvt. Ltd. [[2016 (8) TMI 925 - CESTAT NEW DELHI]] has held that The appellant is mainly a CHA and the issue of classification is of complex nature. It cannot be said that the CHA should have information that the goods were ‘Food Supplements’ and not ‘Medicaments’. It is for the Customs Department to classify the goods. Under these circumstances, the levy of the penalty is not justified. Thus the penalty imposed on the appellants under Section 114 of the Customs Act is not warranted and are therefore required to be set aside - appeal allowed.
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