One Rolex Watch Can Be For Personal Use, Not 'Commercial Quantity': Delhi High Court To Customs

It thus cautioned the Department's Adjudicating Authority against “error” on its part, in declaring the same as commercial.

“Clearly, this Court is of the view that one Rolex watch cannot be held to be a commercial quantity and there is no reason as to why the same cannot be kept for personal use,” a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed.

The Court was dealing with a petition filed by a resident of Dubai, whose one Rolex watch was detained by the Department upon arrival to India, on the allegation of non-declaration.

He was allowed to redeem the watch on paying a fine of Rs. 1,80,000/- for the purpose of re-export. However, on pursuing the impugned order, the Court found “some error”.

The Adjudicating Authority had declared that the “Goods are clearly in commercial quantity and cannot possibly be for personal use”.

It is in this backdrop that the Court ordered,

“The adjudicating authority is cautioned to ensure that in future, such errors do not occur in the orders which are passed by the adjudicating authority.”

It also allowed the Petitioner to redeem the detained article in accordance with the impugned order.

Appearance: Dr. Ashutosh, Ms. Fatima and Mr. Pravej, Advs. for Petitioner; Ms. Atul Tripathi, SSC with Mr. Shubham Mishra, Adv. for CBIC.

Case title: Mahesh Malkani v. Commissioner Of Customs

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1163

Case no.: W.P.(C) 14402/2025

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