Delhi High Court fines Customs ₹50K for challenging order to frame uniform policy on import of sex toys

The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the Department of Customs for seeking review of the Court's judgment directing the government to hold an inter-ministerial consultation to frame a policy on the import of sex toys and release products seized from two companies. 

A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain said that the review lacked merit and the Customs Department is clearly harassing the petitioner companies for no reason. 

“The court is clearly of the view that the Petitioners are being harassed unnecessarily, when clearly the earlier consignments of the Petitioners were cleared with objection and the consignments of various third parties were also cleared. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed subject to cost of ₹25,000/- in each of the petitions to be paid to the Petitioners by the Customs Department. The cost is liable to be deducted from the salary of Mr. Jainendra Jain, Assistant Commissioner of Customs,” the Court ordered. 

On October 30, the High Court had ordered the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to conduct an inter-ministerial consultation in respect of the uniform policy of permitting import of products declared as body massagers or sex toys. The Court had also ordered the provisional release of goods imported by two companies named Techsync and Debanjan Impex. 

In the review plea, the Customs Department argued that the imported products required approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and that the companies had not furnished an extended producer responsibility (EPR) certificate under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.

However, the Court noted that the Department had failed to disclose crucial guidelines that contradicted its claims. 

Therefore, it dismissed the review petition. 

Advocates Piyushi Garg, Ananay Chopra, Ajay Kr Yadav, Chandravijay Sharma, Hardik Saxena and Rajat Yadav appeared for Techsync and Debanjan Impex.

Advocates Akshay Amritanshu, Drishti Rawal, Mayur Goyal and Sarthak Srivastava appeared for the Customs Department. 

[Read Order]