Ceylon Quartz Industries (Private) Limited vs The Director General of Customs – SC APPEAL NO. 79/2002-2012

In the case between Ceylon Quartz Industries (Private) Limited and the Director General of Customs (with additional respondents including the Assistant Director of Customs and the Attorney General), the central issue addressed was the extent of Customs’ authority to interpret or go beyond the terms of a BOI (Board of Investment) Agreement (Agreement X8) regarding goods eligible for export duty exemptions. The court determined that Customs is not authorized to interpret the nature of goods stipulated for export under the BOI Agreement and is confined to verifying whether exported goods align with the exporters’ declarations. The authority to define export-eligible goods remains with the BOI as per the agreement, and Customs may only perform verification, not re-characterization of goods for