Nihala Nazir Simi vs. The Deputy Commissioner Of Customs
Held
The Court held that the petitioner's overstay, caused by testing COVID-19 positive at the airport during the pandemic, was an unfortunate circumstance and should not disqualify her as an "eligible passenger". Consequently, she was liable for only 10% customs duty, and the respondents were directed to refund the excess duty collected.
Facts
The petitioner, an Indian passport holder residing abroad, was intercepted at the airport and levied 39% customs duty on gold ornaments. Customs deemed her ineligible for the lower 10% duty rate due to exceeding the permissible stay in India within the last six months, attributing the overstay to her testing COVID-19 positive.
Key Issues
The key legal issue was whether the petitioner qualified as an "eligible passenger" for a lower customs duty rate on gold, considering her overstay in India was due to a COVID-19 positive test result.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH THURSDAY, THE 23RD DAY OF NOVEMBER 2023 / 2ND AGRAHAYANA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 33470 OF 2022 PETITIONER/S: NIHALA NAZIR SIMI W/O HARSHAD SALIM, AGED 27 YEARS PILAVILA HOUSE, MANCHALLOOR, KUNDAYAM P.O, KOLLAM DISTRICT, PIN - 689695 BY ADVS. T.R.VISHNU A.MOHAMMED SAVAD RESPONDENTS: 1 THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS AIR CUSTOMS, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695024 2 JOINT COMMISSIONER AIR CUSTOMS, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695024 3 SUPERINTENDENT OF CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION, AIR CUSTOMS, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695024 BY ADVS. A.K.PREETHA SHRI.SREELAL N.WARRIER, SC, GST INTELLIGENCE ( DIRECTORATE GENERAL -DGGI) THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 23.11.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) No.33470 of 2022 2 JUDGMENT Dated this the 23rd day of November, 2023 The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner who was initially settled in UAE with her family and now she lives in Qatar. The
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