NEW DELHI: The High Court of Delhi has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Department of Customs for seeking review of the court’s earlier judgment directing the government to hold an inter-ministerial consultation to frame a policy on the import of sex toys.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Shail Jain said that the review lacked merit, adding that the customs department was clearly harassing the petitioner companies Techsync and Debanjan Impex for no reason.
The bench said the cost was to be deducted from the salary of assistant commissioner of customs Jainendra Jain.
On October 30, a single judge bench of the court had ordered the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to conduct an inter-ministerial consultation in respect of the uniform policy of permitting import of products declared as body massagers or sex toys.
The court had also ordered the provisional release of goods imported by both the companies. The customs department, however, moved a larger bench against the order, arguing that the imported products required approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and that the companies had not furnished an extended producer responsibility (EPR) certificate under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.
“The court is clearly of the view that the petitioners are being harassed unnecessarily, when clearly the earlier consignments of the petitioners were cleared … and the consignments of various third parties were also cleared.
Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed subject to cost of Rs 25,000 in each of the petitions to be paid to the petitioners by the customs department,” the bench said.
The two judge bench noted that the department had failed to disclose crucial guidelines that contradicted its claims.
“There was no satisfactory answer given by the respondents (department) in the counter affidavit dated April 24, 2025, as well. In these overall circumstances, the review of the order dated October 30, 2025, completely lacks merit and the Customs Department is clearly harassing the Petitioners for no reason … The provisional release of the imported goods shall be effected within two working days … The review petitions are dismissed in these terms,” the bench said.
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