New Delhi [India], November 5 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has expressed serious concern over delays by Customs authorities in adjudicating cases involving detained goods, observing that passengers cannot be effectively punished merely because their cases remain pending while demurrage charges continue to accumulate.
A Division Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan and Justice Shail Jain observed that it was not an isolated instance where goods detained by Customs remained in warehouses for months or even years without adjudication of the matter.
The Court was hearing a petition filed by Mr. Niyamat Khan against the Commissioner of Customs, IGI Airport and another respondent.
The Customs Department submitted that the goods in question had been detained in January 2025. According to the Department, a notice dated August 25, 2025, granting the petitioner an opportunity for a personal hearing and fixing the matter for the second week of September 2025, had been issued. However, it was contended that the matter could not proceed further as the petitioner did not appear for the hearing.
The High Court, however, noted that the writ petition had been drafted in November 2025 and notice had been issued in the matter on February 18, 2026, meaning that the Department had been aware of the pendency of the proceedings.
Significantly, the Bench said that Customs authorities frequently advance the explanation that a matter could not be adjudicated because the passenger failed to appear for a personal hearing, even as the detained goods continue to remain in warehouses and demurrage charges keep mounting.
“In the present case, the goods were detained in January 2025 and the notice affording an opportunity of personal hearing was issued in August 2025, yet as on date, i.e. 03.11.2026, the matter remains unadjudicated,” the Court noted.
The Bench further observed that there appeared to be a lack of urgency on the part of the Department in adjudicating such matters, particularly when some passengers may not even be permanent residents of India.
“The delay in adjudication cannot be made a mode of punishment for the passengers whose goods have been detained,” the Court observed, adding that the hardship was compounded as demurrage charges continued to accrue not only until the passing of the order-in-original but potentially until the revisional stage if the Department pursued the matter further.
Observing that appropriate measures were required, the Court said uniform instructions and a consistent procedure should be put in place to ensure expeditious adjudication of such cases.
The Bench sought assistance from panel counsel appearing for the Customs Department. While the Court had initially intended to summon the Chief Commissioner of Customs, it permitted the Department, on its request, to file detailed instructions through an affidavit within three weeks.
The Court also said that the Chief Commissioner of Customs may, if desired, collect data from various airports and the Central Warehousing Corporation regarding the dates on which goods were detained and the number of cases presently pending, and use the information as a sample for examining the issue. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 27, 2026. (ANI)
Delhi HC flags customs’ delays in adjudication, says detained goods cannot be left in warehouses as ‘Mode of Punishment’
