- By Chetna Shree
- Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:02 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Delhi High Court on Thursday reprimanded the Customs Department and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000, liable to be deducted from the salary of the assistant commissioner for ‘harassing’ an importer and supplier of sex toys, while dismissing the department’s plea seeking review of its earlier order for release of the seized consignments containing ‘sex toys’.
“..the review petition is dismissed, subject to the costs 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 said.
In its October 30 order, the Delhi High Court directed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) ‘to conduct an inter-ministerial consultation to formulate a uniform policy on permitting or prohibiting the import of products declared as ‘body massagers’ or sex toys,’ one that aligns with contemporary times, after noting the absence of such uniformity, The Indian Express reported.
The Customs Department justified the seizures by alleging that the importer, Techsync, had misdeclared the goods as body massagers when they actually were sex toys, which it said are prohibited under a 1964 notification classifying them as ‘obscene products.
In seeking a review of the October 30 order, the Customs Department argued that the products imported by Techsync and M/s Debanjan Impex required a license/certificate from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It further argued that the companies failed to provide the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Registration Certificate mandated under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, as some of the products were found to be battery-operated, the report added.
Delhi HC Flags ‘Harassment’ By Customs Department
The bench of Justices Prathiba Singh and Sahil Jain noted that the Customs Department is clearly harassing the petitioners for no reason,” and doing so “unnecessarily,” as the earlier consignments of the petitioners and those of several third parties, including Reckitt Benckiser of the Durex brand, have been declared without objection.
The Court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the department, liable to be deducted from the salary of Mr Jainendra Jain, Assistant Commissioner of Customs.