Win for Shipping Line: CESTAT Rules SCMTR Does Not Require Waiver of Detention Charges Beyond 60...

In a victory for a shipping line, the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has ruled that the Shipping Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR) do not mandate a waiver of container detention charges beyond 60 days. The case involved a dispute where the customs department had insisted that the shipping line should waive detention charges. However, the CESTAT clarified that the SCMTR primarily governs the procedures for cargo movement and manifest filing. It does not give the customs authorities the power to interfere in the commercial contracts between a shipping line and its clients, which govern matters like detention charges. The tribunal held that these charges are a commercial matter and are not subject to waiver under the SCMTR. This ruling provides important clarity, limiting the customs department's intervention in the commercial arrangements of the shipping industry.