Commissioner of Customs vs Ankineedu Manganti

C.N. Ramachandran Nair, J.—The appeal is filed against the order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal [2010 (262) E.L.T. 484 (Tribunal)] holding that the confiscation of respondent''s vehicle for non production of type approval certificate is untenable. The learned standing counsel appearing for the appellant contended that Import policy re-quires production of type approval certificate in respect of every model of vehicle imported. However, we notice from the Tribunal''s order that the vehicle imported is produced by the world renowned vehicle manufacturer Toyota. It is the further finding that same types of vehicles are imported to India on earlier occasions. In our view type approval certificate is mainly required to ensure that the vehicle is safe and road worthy for public use and it is to be considered by the registering authority while registering the vehicle and not by the Customs authority when it is imported. Besides this, the assumption of the department that the importer has imported the vehicle which is unfit for use on road is also absurd. In fact, in a similar case, the Delhi High Court has upheld the view of the Tribunal because the importer cannot be expected to get what is not possible to obtain. We therefore do not find any merit in the appeal filed by the department. Consequently the appeal is dismissed.