‘Won’t stop Skoda consignments’: Customs to HC

MUMBAI: The

customs department

on Monday informed

Bombay high court

that it will not stop the clearance of consignments of German auto major

Škoda Auto

Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd, facing allegations of $1.4 billion duty evasion.
N Venkataraman, additional solicitor general from Delhi representing the Indian customs, made the statement before the HC bench of Justices B P Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla as it posted a petition filed by Škoda to Feb 20 for further hearing.
The company recently approached HC to challenge as “arbitrary and illegal” the Sept 2024 showcause notice. The notice was issued last year under the

Customs Act

over automobile parts imports. Senior counsel Arvind Datar and Rohan Shah for Škoda argued the notice was untenable and misdirected as the company’s import was of parts which fell under a different classification that requires each part to be assessed independently.
Datar said the company had a “consistent model” across the globe and was not attempting to evade any law or to save on duties.