The Supreme Court reiterated that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Official is not a proper officer to Issue show cause notice under Customs Act.
The three-judge bench of Justice A.M.Khanwilkar, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, and Justice J.K.Maheshwari while dismissing the appeal of the Customs Commissioner relied on the decision in the case of M/s. Canon India Private Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Customs” reported in 2021(3) SCALE 748 wherein it was held that the Additional Director General (ADG) of DRI is not the proper officer to issue SCN under Section 28(4) of the Customs Act, 1962. The Apex Court concluded the entire proceeding as invalid and without any authority of law.
“These appeals must fail as the show cause notice(s) in the present cases was also issued by Additional Director General (ADG), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), who is not a proper officer within the meaning of Section 28(4) read with Section 2(34) of the Customs Act, 1962,” the apex court said.
However, the court clarified that the dismissal of the appeals will not come in the way of the competent authority to proceed in the matter in accordance with the law.
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