Legal principle

A customs proper officer, including a DRI officer, may lawfully draw samples under Section 144 of the Customs Act for examination, classification, valuation and investigation even when the imported goods are food; FSSAI's role in food safety clearance does not remove this power.

Court decision

The appeal was allowed. The Single Judge's order was set aside to the extent it made FSSAI the sole sampling authority and quashed the customs sampling and the NFL and CRCL reports. The directions for fresh sampling, videography, lab timelines, release of cargo and demurrage waiver were vacated. Customs must go ahead with adjudicating the pending show cause notice in accordance with law.

Facts

M/s Credence International imported 84.48 MT of areca nuts from Indonesia and filed Bill of Entry No. 4451174 dated 11.09.2025 at ICD Durgapur, declaring them as "Roasted Areca Nuts" under CTH 20081991, value Rs.1,12,21,197. DRI suspected they were dried areca nuts under CTH 080280, misdeclared to avoid the DGFT Minimum Import Price and CBIC tariff values. DRI held the bill of entry before it went to FSSAI. Customs drew samples under Section 144; the National Food Laboratory and CRCL found the goods misdeclared and unsafe. The goods were seized under Section 110 on 07.10.2025 and a show cause notice was issued on 11.09.2026. A Single Judge held that only FSSAI officers could draw samples of imported food and quashed the reports. DRI and Customs appealed to a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court.

Key provisions

• Section 144, Customs Act, 1962 — Power to take samples