The Bombay High Court has quashed the notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) which was sought to be adjudicated after 8 years.
The bench of Justice K. R. Shriram and Justice Jitendra Jain has observed that Section 28(9) of the Customs Act provides for determination of the amount of duty or interest within 6 months or 1 year from the date of notice as the case may be with further extension of the same period and subject to the conditions. Therefore, Section 28(9) of the Customs Act imposes an express bar in passing the order.
Background
The petitioner/assessee, carries on business as a sole proprietor in the name of style of “Global Marking”. The petitioner is in the business of import and export of saffron. A show cause notice was issued to assessee by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to show cause why import duty foregone amounting to Rs.3,66,360/- should not be demanded under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 along with interest under Section 28AA/AB.
The petitioner replied giving detailed written submissions as to why the SCN should be dropped. Petitioner also requested for a personal hearing. For almost 3 years, no steps were taken for adjudication of the SCN.
The Petitioner was informed that the Commissioner of Customs has been appointed as Adjudicating Authority for adjudication of the SCN. Petitioner was informed that he has not replied to the SCN. Pursuant to the intimation, Petitioner informed the customs commissioner that he has already replied to SCN.
However, Petitioner sought adjournment since he was not in town on that day. Thereafter, Respondents did not take any steps for adjudication of the impugned SCN and after almost more than 4 years and after almost 8 years from the date of the SCN, again a personal hearing was fixed on 13th December 2022.
The Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 10th March 2015 issued by Respondent No.4-Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which is now sought to be adjudicated after a period of almost 8 years.
Arguments
The assessee contended that the department has not adjudicated the Show Cause Notice for almost 8 years and, therefore, the SCN is required to be set aside.
The department contended that there is no statutory bar to adjudicate the matter even after the lapse of 9 years after the issue of Show Cause Notice.
Conclusion
The court while allowing the petition held that if order is not passed within time provided under Section 28(9) of the Customs Act then the notice would be justified in believing that Show Cause Notice has been dropped.
Case Title: Bhushan Vora Versus The Union of India
Case No.: Writ Petition No.389 Of 2023
Date: 10/09/2024
Counsel For Petitioner: Prakash Shah
Counsel For Respondent: P. M. Sharma
