The Delhi High Court held that failure to receive notice due to the door being closed at the premises will not invalidate the notice issued within 90 days under Regulation 20(1) of Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2013 ( CBLR ).
The respondent (M/s R.P. Cargo Handling Services) had filed the aforementioned appeal before the learned Tribunal impugning the order-in-original dated 04.02.2019, passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Airport & General) (‘the Commissioner’). The Commissioner had revoked the respondent’s Customs Broker License (‘the CB License’); directing forfeiture of the security deposit of ₹5,00,000/-; and imposed a penalty of ₹50,000/- on the respondent.
The question that falls for consideration of this Court is whether the learned Tribunal was correct in holding that a show cause notice under Regulation 20 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2013 (‘the CBLR’) is required to be received by the customs broker within a period of ninety days of the receipt of the offence report and it is not sufficient that the notice is sent within the said period of ninety days.
In terms of Regulation 20(1) of the CBLR, the Commissioner is required to issue a notice in writing to the customs broker within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the offence report. It is contended on behalf of the respondent that the term ‘issue’ must be read to mean ‘serve’ and must be received by the customs broker within the stipulated period.
The show cause notice was not received within a period of ninety days from 18.05.2018 therefore, the proceedings against the respondent were not maintainable on account of the show cause notice being issued beyond the period as specified in Regulation 20(1) of the CBLR.
The respondent also contended that the scheme of Regulation 20 of the CBLR makes it amply clear that the term ‘issue’ must be interpreted to mean receipt because of the strict timelines, provided under Regulation 20 of the CBLR, which commence from the date of issue of the show cause notice.
The customs broker is required to submit its reply within a period of thirty days, and on receipt of a such written statement, the inquiry is required to be conducted. In terms of Sub regulation (5) of Regulation 20 of the CBLR, the inquiry officer is required to submit a report within a period of ninety days from the date of the issue of notice.
A Coram comprising of Justice VibhuBakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan observed that the Commissioner was required to serve a notice to the respondent within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the offence report. The Commissioner was required to issue a notice within the period of ninety days and there is no dispute that it had done so.
While allowing the appeal, the impugned order is set aside and the matter is remanded to the Tribunal to consider the respondent’s appeal on merits.
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