2016 (1) TMI 1144 - HC - Customs

Jurisdiction of the DRI - Propriety of the Central Board of Excise and Customs to issue a notification to deliberately negate the effect of a considered judgment of the Supreme Court - Held that - it is no longer open to the petitioners to challenge any aspect of the impugned show cause notice of June 3, 2015, at least prior to issuing a reply thereto. The matters sought to be urged herein were or ought to have urged in course of the previous petition and to the extent they were not urged or not covered by the order dated October 6, 2015 cannot be reopened at this stage - petition dismissed - decided against petitioner.

Summary

Issues:
1. Jurisdiction of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to issue a notice under the Customs Act, 1962.
2. Challenge regarding the authority to receive replies to show cause notices.
3. Interpretation of the term "concerned authority" in the context of filing replies to show cause notices.
4. Reopening of issues not raised or covered in a previous petition.
5. Dismissal of the subsequent petition with costs.

Jurisdiction of DRI to Issue Notice:
The case involved import consignments brought in before 2013, suspected to be of Chinese origin routed through Malaysia to avoid anti-dumping duties. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence issued a notice under Sections 124 and 28 of the Customs Act, 1962. The petitioners challenged the jurisdiction of the DRI to issue the notice, which was disposed of in an earlier order. The court upheld the jurisdiction based on notifications designating certain DRI officers as proper officers for such notices.

Challenge Regarding Authority for Replies:
The petitioners contended that a circular of December 11, 2014, not brought to the court's notice earlier, was significant. They argued that replies to show cause notices should be filed with the office that issued them, not elsewhere. Referring to a Supreme Court judgment and the circular, the petitioners sought clarification on the appropriate authority to receive replies.

Interpretation of "Concerned Authority":
The petitioners emphasized that the term "concerned authority" in the court's previous order implied the office that issued the show cause notice. They believed that the issue of the appropriate authority to receive replies was not conclusively decided in the earlier order, prompting the current petition for clarification.

Reopening of Unraised Issues:
The court ruled that the petitioners could not challenge aspects of the show cause notice before replying to it. Issues not raised in the previous petition or covered by the earlier order could not be reopened at this stage, leading to the dismissal of the subsequent petition with costs.

In conclusion, the judgment addressed the jurisdiction of the DRI to issue notices, the authority for receiving replies to show cause notices, and the interpretation of relevant terms. It emphasized the importance of raising all relevant issues in a timely manner and upheld the previous decision regarding jurisdiction.