In a significant ruling, the Chhattisgarh High Court has quashed the search and seizure proceedings and subsequent summons by DRI as the Court found the same as unauthorized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
Justice P. Sam Koshy was considering a petition by Vijay Baid, Proprietor of M/s Jewelers Jasraj Shantilal Baid, wherein the petitioner challenged the proceedings initiated by the DRI following certain Gold and Silver were seized from the office and residential premises of the Petitioner.
The Single bench observed that there is no dispute to the fact that the proceeding is not by the Customs Department or the officials of the Customs Department.
“Merely because one of the Officers in the search and seizure proceeding belongs to the Customs Department does not mean that the proceeding has been drawn by the Customs Department. All the proceedings in the instant case have been from the office of the DRI. It was never the case of the Respondents that the proceeding not being from the Department of DRI or for that matter the proceedings being drawn by the Customs Department,” the Court said.
Allowing the petition, the Court held that “In the given factual matrix of the case, the plea and the defence taken by learned Assistant Solicitor General or for that matter the Department of DRI are not sustainable nor do it have any substantial force, particularly in the light of the authoritative judicial precedents laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and by various High Courts in India, a few of which have been referred to in the preceding paragraphs. In view of above, this Court is inclined to allow the present Writ Petition and to hold that the issuance of Notice dated 29.10.2021 (Annexure P-3) issued under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 and the subsequent Notices/Summons issued to the Petitioner are all without any authority of law and are therefore not sustainable.”
Advocates Vijay M. Adwani, and Mr. Manish Upadhyay appeared for the petitioners.
Vijay Baid VS Union of India
CITATION: 2022 TAXSCAN (HC) 115
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