CESTAT sets aside confiscation of 36,405 US dollars seized at Hyderabad airport
Customs officers seized 36,405 US dollars from a USA passport holder bound for London at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. The adjudicating authority ordered absolute confiscation and penalties, upheld on first appeal. The CESTAT Hyderabad allowed the appeal and set aside the proceedings.
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How we verify →Confiscation and penalty stand set aside by the CESTAT Hyderabad order dated 14.11.2025 with consequential relief as per law.
What happened
The Tribunal recorded that the appellant was intercepted by CISF officers during security check on the plea that he was carrying foreign currency in hand baggage and was then handed over to Customs, who seized the currency.
The Tribunal recorded that the appellant stated he was a former professor in Hyderabad till 2000, then worked in the USA, brought currency for expenses, kept the remainder in a Federal Bank locker, and was carrying it for a family medical emergency without knowledge of RBI regulations.
The Tribunal recorded that the adjudicating authority ordered absolute confiscation and penalties, and the first appellate authority rejected the appeal and upheld that order.
The Tribunal held that enquiry was not done by a competent officer under the FEMA notification, that seized currency is not notified under Section 123 of the Customs Act so the onus was on Revenue, and that there was no evidence the currency was smuggled.
The Tribunal held that the appeal is liable to be allowed and allowed it with consequential reliefs.
What the record says
“The Customs Authorities have seized the foreign currency.”
Customs Appeal No. 30468 of 2023, Final Order No. A/30475/2025, para 2 — read the full text
A peaceful economic act
Carrying foreign currency for personal and family use harmed no one and involved no victim, fraud or force. It was penalised only for being outside the authorised-dealer system.
What we could not confirm
Flight date is printed as 30.09.2000 in para 2 but statement and verification are dated 30.09.2020; incident date taken as 2020-09-30. Exact penalty amounts below were not repeated in the Tribunal order text.