The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), ruled that the physical verification of the business premises is not an obligation upon the Customs Broker, under Rule 10(n) of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018).
The appellant, M/s. B. K. Clearing Agency, is a holder of Customs Broker (CB) license and on the basis of the investigation report of SIB, proceedings under Regulation 17 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018). was initiated against the appellant and a notice was issued for violation of Regulations 1(4), 10(d), 10(m), 10(n) and 13(12) of the Custom Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018, in connection with the past exports of M/s. S. S. Impex during the period of June 2019 to December, 2020.
The Principal Commissioner of Customs adjudicated the notice and ordered for revocation of the Customs Broker license of the appellant and ordered for forfeiture of security deposit under Regulation 14 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018) and imposed penalty of Rs 50,000 under Regulation 18 of Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018).
Paragraph 6 of the Circular 9/2010-Cus dated 8.4.2010 requires the client to furnish to the CHA, a photograph of himself / herself, in the case of an individual and those of the authorized signatory in respect of other forms of organization such as company/trusts, etc. and any two of the listed documents in the annexure to the said circular.
In the present case also, the appellant has collected the documents such as IEC, GSTIN etc. submitted by the exporter SS Impex, before processing their shipping bills. Later if they were not found to be existing in the said addresses, the appellant cannot be held responsible for their non-existence at the address specified.
The Coram comprising PK Choudhary, Judicial Member and K Anpazhakan, Technical Member observed that “The allegation against the appellant in the impugned order that they have violated Regulation 10 (n) of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018) is not sustainable. We find that physical verification of the business premises is not an obligation cast upon the Customs Broker, under Rule 10(n) of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR, 2018).”
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