Customs Broker Penalty Set Aside

The Bangalore Bench of CESTAT set aside the penalty imposed on a Customs Broker under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018 (CBLR, 2018), holding that there was no evidence to establish knowledge, collusion or lack of due diligence on the part of the broker in an attempted export of sugar mis declared as raw rice. 

The Tribunal observed that a Customs Broker cannot be penalised merely because an exporter furnishes incorrect information, particularly where KYC requirements were complied with and there was no material demonstrating conscious involvement in the misdeclaration.