Rs 4.46 crore Customs penalty upheld in Surat gold-paste smuggling case
Customs imposed a Rs 4,46,47,485 penalty on a trader accused of funding gold bought in the United Arab Emirates and smuggled as paste through Surat airport. The High Court recorded that the role fell under both aiding import and dealing in goods liable to confiscation. It dismissed the challenge to the penalty order.
This page records what the cited court, tribunal and government records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →The writ challenge is dismissed and the Rs 4.46 crore penalty order stands, subject to any statutory appeal.
What happened
The High Court recorded that police intercepted a car near Surat after two passengers arrived from Sharjah, and recovered gold in paste form weighing 7158 grams.
Customs said the trader arranged around 2,75,000 Dirhams in the United Arab Emirates to buy gold and dealt in smuggled gold on commission.
The High Court recorded that the trader challenged the penalty as wrongly imposed under sub-clause (i) for prohibited goods instead of sub-clause (ii) for dutiable goods.
The High Court held smuggled gold brought without declaration counts as prohibited goods and the penalty under Section 112 was warranted, so it dismissed the petition.
What the record says
“In the present writ petition, the petitioner has assailed the Order-in-Original dated 06.11.2025 imposing penalty of Rs.4,46,47,485/- by invoking the provisions of Section 112(a) and Section 112(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 (for short "the Act").”
C/SCA/3265/2026, judgment dated 16/04/2026, para 1 — read the full text
A peaceful economic act
The state penalised carrying and storing gold without declaration, an act with no victim, no violence, no fraud and no adulterated product.
What we could not confirm
The judgment decides only the legal challenge to the penalty clause; the underlying smuggling allegations remain as recorded by Customs and DRI and were not tried in this writ case.