New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the release of two gold ornaments seized from two Delhi-based travellers, while mandating payment of the full applicable customs duty along with warehousing charges calculated from the date of seizure.
A Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Renu Bhatnagar also imposed costs of ₹10,000 each on the petitioners for having “given an impression” that the ornaments were old, when in fact they were found to be “absolutely brand new”.
Jewellery Found to Be Brand New
The petitioners had contended that the seized gold — a chain and a kada weighing about 200 grams — were old jewellery worn by them while travelling from Dubai. The seizure had taken place at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in February 2023.
However, after directing the production of the ornaments in court, the Bench rejected the claim outright.
“Upon a perusal of the gold items, it is clear that the gold items are not used gold jewellery of the petitioners, and the same are absolutely brand new jewellery,” the Justice Singh-led Bench observed.
Failure to Issue Show-Cause Notice
The Court further noted a procedural lapse on the part of the Customs Department, which failed to issue a show-cause notice (SCN) within the mandatory statutory period under Section 110 of the Customs Act.
“In this case, the one-year period itself has elapsed, thus no SCN can be issued at this stage. The continued detention of seized gold items is, therefore, impermissible and the same are liable to be released to the petitioners,” the Court held.
Conditions for Release
While ordering the release of the jewellery, the Bench imposed two clear conditions:
-
Payment of the full applicable customs duty.
-
Payment of full warehousing charges as applicable from the date of seizure.
The petitioners, or their authorised representatives, have been directed to appear before customs authorities on December 23. The Court also directed Mukesh Gulia, designated as the nodal officer, to facilitate their appearance before the competent authority.
“The deposit shall be made by December 15, 2025, and the proof of deposit shall be produced before the Customs Authority on December 23, 2025, subject to which the release shall be effected,” the Bench ordered while disposing of the petitions.
