Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances
Section 138B of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with relevancy of statements under certain circumstances. A statement made and signed by a person before any gazetted officer of customs during the course of any inquiry or proceeding under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains,-- (a) when the perso The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
1[138B. Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances.--(1) A statement made and signed by a person before any gazetted officer of customs during the course of any inquiry or proceeding under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains,--
(a) when the person who made the statement is dead or cannot be found, or is incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of the way by the adverse party, or whose presence cannot be obtained without an amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case, the court considers unreasonable; or
(b) when the person who made the statement is examined as a witness in the case before the court and the court is of opinion that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the statement should be admitted in evidence in the interests of justice.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to any proceeding under this Act, other than a proceeding before a court, as they apply in relation to a proceeding before a court.]
Section 138B, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore vs Gmr Energy LTD
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where imported goods under a rotable exchange programme are valued at published catalogue prices that are list unit prices established worldwide without adjustment for return of used parts, and no 'sale' occurs under the agreement, the invoice value based on such catalogue prices constitutes the proper assessable value under customs law, and additional value corresponding to returned parts cannot be added merely because used parts are returned to the foreign supplier under the agreed rotable exchange programme, absent explicit evidence in the invoices themselves showing the prices were adjusted downward to account for such returns.
On this section: Admissibility of witness statements in customs proceedings
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… We are not concerned with such category of witnesses. Confessional statement of an accused, therefore, cannot be made use of in any manner under Section 138B of the Customs Act. Even otherwise such an evidence is considered to be of weak nature. {See Gopal Govind Chogale v. Assistant Collector of Central Excise and another, [1985 (2) BomCR 499 Paras 12-14]}" In support of the above arguments, Mr. Ali Mohd. Khan, the learned counsel appearing for the …
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… We are not concerned with such category of witnesses. Confessional statement of an accused, therefore, cannot be made use of in any manner under Section 138B of the Customs Act. Even otherwise such an evidence is considered to be of weak nature. {See Gopal Govind Chogale v. Assistant Collector of Central Excise and another, [1985 (2) BomCR 499 Paras 12-14]}" In support of the above arguments, Mr. Ali Mohd. Khan, the learned counsel appearing for the …
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… We are not concerned with such category of witnesses. Confessional statement of an accused, therefore, cannot be made use of in any manner under Section 138B of the Customs Act. Even otherwise such an evidence is considered to be of weak nature. {See Gopal Govind Chogale v. Assistant Collector of Central Excise and another, [1985 (2) BomCR 499 Paras 12-14]}" In support of the above arguments, Mr. Ali Mohd. Khan, the learned counsel appearing for the …
Questions about Section 138B
What have the courts held on Section 138B of the Customs Act?
Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore vs Gmr Energy LTD (27 Oct 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Admissibility of witness statements in customs proceedings.
How do I find court cases under Section 138B of the Customs Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Customs Act 1962 138B, section 138B Customs Act 1962, section 138B of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore vs Gmr Energy LTD (27 Oct 2015).
When did Section 138B of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 138B of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 138B, came into force on 01 Feb 1963, having been enacted on 13 Dec 1962. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 28. Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded2145 words
- 2. Definitions1638 words
- 129A. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal1170 words
- 27. Claim for refund of duty1060 words
- 127C. Procedure on receipt of an application under section 127B1056 words
- 138C. Admissibility of micro films, facsimile copies of documents and computer print outs as documents and as evidence872 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.