Auctioneers, assailing Circular dated 3 December 2018 issued by the
KUMAR
Signing Date:12.02.2026
10:10:35
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs1, stands dismissed by
judgment dated 5 September 2022 rendered by a learned Single Judge
of this Court. The petitioner in the writ petition is in appeal before us.
Facts
2. The Impugned Circular
2.1 The Circular in question puts in place a revised procedure for
expeditious disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo, lying with
custodians, under Section 482 of the Customs Act, 19623. Para 2 of
the Circular notes the fact that, despite several earlier Circulars
holding the field, satisfactory disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo at
customs locations was not forthcoming. In these circumstances, the
Central Vigilance Commission4 appointed a Committee of Chief
Vigilance Officers to examine the reasons for delay in disposal of
unclaimed/uncleared cargo. The Committee observed that owing to
the said delay, there had been complete breakdown of the system
resulting in substantial loss to government revenue. It was in these
circumstances, that the CBIC reviewed the procedure for disposal of
1 “CBIC”, hereinafter
2 48. Procedure in case of goods not cleared, warehoused, or transhipped within [thirty days] after
unloading.–If any goods brought into India from a place outside India are not cleared for home
consumption or warehoused or transhipped [within [thirty days]] from the date of the unloading
thereof at a customs station or within such further time as the proper officer may allow or if the title
to any imported goods is relinquished, such goods may, after notice to the importer and with the
permission of the proper officer, be sold by the person having the custody thereof: