2014 (9) TMI 986 - AT - Customs

Suspension of Licence Delayed issuance of notice Commissioner issued order under Regulation 20(2) of Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, suspended licence on ground that appellant failed to exercise supervision to ensure proper conduct of his employees in transaction of business and accordingly is responsible for misconduct of his employees Held that - In terms of Regulation 20(1) Commissioner shall issue notice in writing to Customs Broker within 90 days from date of receipt of office report, stating ground on which it is proposed to revoke licence or impose penalty on him and Customs broker is required to submit his reply within 30 days Where licence of Customs broker has been suspended and it has been decided to continue suspension, issue of notice within 90 days from date of receipt of offence report is mandatory Admittedly offence report mentioning alleged misconduct of appellant had been received from DGRI, but required notice in terms of Regulation 20(1) was not issued within 90 days from date of receipt of offence report In view of this, there is no justification for continued suspension Suspension order passed by Commissioner, therefore set aside Appeal allowed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Suspension of customs broker license under Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations.
2. Compliance with procedural requirements for revocation of license.
3. Justification for continued suspension of license.
4. Timeliness of issuing notice for revocation of license.

Analysis:
Issue 1: The appellant, a customs broker, had their license suspended by the Commissioner of Customs based on alleged misconduct regarding a consignment declared inaccurately by an importer. The suspension was confirmed after a post-decisional hearing. The appellant appealed against the suspension orders, arguing that the notice for revocation of license had not been issued within the required timeframe under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations.

Issue 2: The appellant contended that the Commissioner failed to comply with the procedural requirement of issuing a notice for revocation of license within 90 days of receiving the offense report, as mandated by Regulation 20(1) of the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations. The delay in issuing the notice led to the argument that there was no justification for the continued suspension of the license.

Issue 3: The Tribunal examined the seriousness of the alleged misconduct by the appellant and the justification for the continued suspension of the license. The Commissioner had suspended the license under Regulation 20(2) of the Customs House Licensing Regulations, which required following specific procedures for revocation or continuation of suspension.

Issue 4: The Tribunal noted that the notice for revocation of the license was issued long after the stipulated 90-day period from the receipt of the offense report, which was a violation of the procedural requirements. As a result, the Tribunal held that the delay in issuing the notice rendered the continued suspension unjustified. Consequently, the suspension order dated 6-12-2013 and confirmed on 11-2-2014 was set aside, and the appeal by the appellant was allowed.

Overall, the judgment focused on the procedural compliance and the necessity for timely actions in matters concerning the suspension and revocation of customs broker licenses under the applicable regulations.