The Delhi High Court has held that the service of notices, communications and orders ought to be effected even through email and on the common portal i.e. on Directorate General Of Foreign Trade (DGFT) so as to avoid ex-parte proceedings.
The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma has directed the communication of the order to the Chairman, Central Board of Customs and Indirect Taxes so that the mandate of the provision of Section 153(b) and (c) for communication of notices, orders etc., by email as also uploading on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) common portal can henceforth be given effect to.
The petitioner/assessee is an exporter of readymade garments including printed scarves etc. The case of the Petitioner is that it has been in business since 2001 and it had made certain exports to a Dubai based entity for MMF Printed Scarves by various Shipping Bills with the total Free On Board (FOB) value and total drawback amount claimed as Rs. 36,55,092.25.
According to the Petitioner, there were certain earlier inspections of the export consignments conducted by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Mundra Port and representative samples of the export goods were drawn for further investigation and the clearance of goods have been put on hold.
The proceedings were going on with the Department and an Order was passed pursuant to a Show Cause Notice. The Order was issued by the Adjudicating Authority, rejecting the contentions of Petitioner and imposing a penalty.
The matter was in statutory appeal before the Ld. Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) against the Order-in-Original dated 19th November, 2020 and in the process of those proceedings the Petitioner was informed that the Order was passed wherein the Appeal was allowed and the Order- in-Original dated 19th November, 2020 was set aside.
The order also set aside the penalties and redemption fine as a relief. In view of the order, the Petitioner requested the department release the pending drawback and credit the same. The letter was communicated to the Assistant Commissioner (IGST) and the same was accepted by the competent authority.
The Petitioner requested the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Recovery) to issue no dues Certificate. However, the Petitioner is stated to have not received any reply. Eventually, the Petitioner received a letter from the Assistant Commissioner (BRC Cell), requesting submission of export proceeds details in the prescribed format and coordination with their bank for EDPMS updates.
The Court saw the documents which have been placed on record including the bank certificates which show that the amounts from the exports in the form of foreign exchange has been realised, though at a later stage, with some delay. All these aspects ought to have been considered by the Department before passing the Order. However, it was not possible as the Petitioner was not served with the Show Cause Notice or the hearing notices. No reply to the SCN was filed and no hearing was actually held.
A perusal of the provision would show that one of the modes for service under Section 153(b) of The Customs Act is through registered post, speed post or courier, however, it can also be sent through email in terms of Section 153(c) of Customs Act. In addition, from 2021 onwards, notices and hearing notices can also be made available on the common portal as well.
The Customs Department ought to in future follow a system by which in addition to notices by speed post, registered post or courier, notices are also sent on the email address which is provided on the letterhead of the Petitioner or any authorised person. It would avoid substantial delay and matters proceeding ex-parte as has happened.
The court held that in order to avoid improper service to parties and to avoid ex-parte proceedings, it is incumbent that service of notices, communications and orders ought to be effected even through email and on the common portal, in addition to the traditional methods as per Section 153.
Case Details
Case Title: Bonanza Enterprises Versus The Assistant Commissioner Of Customs & Anr.
Case No.: W.P.(C) 7510/2024
Date: 19/12/2024
Counsel For Petitioner: Prem Ranjan Kumar
Counsel For Respondent: Aakarsh Srivastava
