The Hon’ble Madras High Court (Division Bench) in Principal Commissioner of Customs v. Shri Vikram Jain [W.A. No. 1855 of 2026 dated August 10, 2026] set aside the order of the Learned Single Judge directing return of the seized currency and held that Indian currency seized during the investigation of fraudulent claims under the Amnesty Scheme of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (“DGFT”), where such currency constituted evidence of Hawala transactions and illegal gratification, is liable to be treated as a “thing” under Section 110(3) of the Customs Act, 1962 (“the Customs Act”) and not as “goods” seized under Section 110(1) of the Customs Act. Consequently, the six-month period prescribed under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act for issuance of a notice under Section 124 of the Customs Act is inapplicable and such currency may be retained for the duration of the proceedings.
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