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7. Petitioner, vide its letter dated 06.11.2020, requested for cancellation of the auction process and sought time to submit documents required for amendment in IGM and for permitting them to change the buyers' name other than the importers. This request was received on 10.11.2020. Respondent No.3, vide letter dated 17.11.2020, informed the petitioner that the auction has already taken place as per Section 48 of the Customs Act, 1962 and denied the request for stopping of auction process. Despite that, petitioner vide letter dated 08.12.2020 and Kailashi Devi Pulps & Paper Products vide letter dated 07.12.2020, requested for seven days time to submit documents required for amendment in IGMs, to which respondent No.3, vide letter dated 01.01.2021 granted them time till 08.01.2021 for submitting the documents as required for amendment in IGMs. Another letter was received from the petitioner on 05.01.2021 seeking additional time till 31.01.2021 for doing the needful. On 08.01.2021, respondent No.3 sent a letter to the petitioner informing that the petitioner has time upto 15.01.2021 to submit the complete documents/NOCs as required for amendment of the bills of entry and for filing bills of entry against the imported goods contained in 113 containers. It was further informed that in case of failure to do so, no further request would be entertained. In response thereto, notice through counsel dated 7 of 13 15.01.2021 was received from M/s KPS Legal on behalf of the petitioner for stopping the auction process and giving them additional time to submit documents required for amendment in the IGMs.

10. Having considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, we are unable to accept the contentions of the learned counsel for the petitioner. The grounds which have been taken by 9 of 13 the petitioner are not acceptable in the light of the stand, which has been taken by the respondents.

11. The facts are not in dispute and therefore, are not being referred to again for brevity. The admitted position is that the goods in 113 containers reached at ICD, Sonepat, in the months of May and June, 2020. After the nationwide lockdown because of COVID-19 pandemic, the unlocking of the said lockdown started w.e.f. 08.06.2020. Thereafter, there was ample time for the importers to respond and get cleared the goods. Despite three notices having been sent to each of the importers over a period of time, none of them turned up to clear the goods. Thereafter, the Custodian of the goods proceeded to comply with the requirement of statute and got the proper no objection certificate and clearances with regard to opening of the seal, inspection of the goods, valuation thereof and ultimately no objection for auctioning of the imported goods i.e. waste paper contained in 113 containers. The process of online auctioning through MSTC was conducted on 05.11.2020 by the Custodian. It is, thereafter, the petitioner who is the consignor, for the first time, wrote a letter dated 06.11.2020, which was received in the office of respondent No.3 on 10.11.2020 requesting him for cancellation of the auction process. This clearly shows that the petitioner had been sitting over the matter. That apart, in this letter dated 06.11.2020, it had further been requested to grant them time to submit the documents required for amendment of IGMs and for permitting the change of buyers' name to other buyers than the importers, which request was declined through letter dated 17.11.2020 by 10 of 13 respondent No.3 in the light of the fact that the goods contained in 113 containers have already been auctioned as per Section 48 of the Customs Act.

12. Thereafter, petitioner again on 08.12.2020 as also the proposed new buyer i.e. M/s Kailashi Devi Pulps & Paper Products on 07.12.2020, requested seven days time to submit the documents required for amendment in IGMs, which request was received on 07.12.2020, a response to the same was sent on 01.01.2021 by respondent No.3. Despite more than three weeks having been passed when the petitioner and the proposed buyer had sought seven days time, granted them another seven days upto 08.01.2021 for submitting the documents as required for amendment in IGMs. Petitioner again wrote a letter dated 05.01.2021 and sought more time till 31.01.2021 for submitting complete documents, to which response was sent by respondent No.3 vide letter dated 08.01.2021 addressed to the petitioner that the time available to the petitioner was upto 15.01.2021 to submit complete documents/NOCs as required for amendment in the bills of entry and against the imported goods contained in 113 containers. All this clearly indicates that ample opportunities and time has been granted by the respondents to the petitioner to fulfill the requirement of amendment in IGMs. Unfortunately, the petitioner, admittedly, has failed to submit the requisite documents till date. These facts do not leave any doubt that the petitioner has been dealt with very fairly by the respondents and a lenient view has been taken by the Competent Authority.