2012 (10) TMI 463 - HC - Customs

Licencing of Custom House Agent - old regulation v/s new regulation - Held that - Those who had cleared the examinations under the regulations issued in the year, 1984, would be eligible for the grant of licence, subject to their fulfilling the other conditions of eligibility, as the actions already taken under the earlier regulations issued in the year, 1984, had been saved by the new regulations issued in the year 2004. Therefore, the petitioner is eligible for the grant of Customs House Agents Licence, as he had passed the written, as well as the oral examination under Regulation 9 of the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984 held prior to the coming into force of the new regulations in the year, 2004 - direction to the department to issue the necessary certificate granting the Customs House Agents Licence to the petitioner - against department.

Summary

Issues:
1. Qualification criteria for Customs House Agent license under different regulations.
2. Validity of passing examinations under old regulations for license grant under new regulations.
3. Interpretation of regulations regarding additional examination requirements.

Analysis:
The judgment dealt with the issue of the qualification criteria for obtaining a Customs House Agent license under different sets of regulations. The petitioner had passed the written and oral examinations under the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984, before the introduction of the new regulations in 2004. The new regulations required those who passed examinations under the old regulations to pass additional examinations for license eligibility. However, the court considered previous judgments and interpretations to conclude that actions taken under the old regulations were saved by the new regulations. The court relied on a Supreme Court decision and a Delhi High Court judgment to support the petitioner's eligibility for the license based on clearing the examinations under the old regulations.

The judgment also discussed the validity of passing examinations under the old regulations for the grant of a license under the new regulations. It highlighted a previous order directing the issuance of Customs House Agent licenses to petitioners who qualified in the written examination before the new regulations came into force and passed the oral examination afterward. The court referred to a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court that had quashed the new regulations in 2004, raising questions about their validity. Additionally, a previous order from the same court directed the issuance of a license to a petitioner who passed both written and oral examinations before the new regulations were implemented, similar to the petitioner in the present case.

Furthermore, the judgment addressed the interpretation of regulations concerning additional examination requirements. The new regulations in 2004 mandated that individuals who passed examinations under the 1984 regulations needed to pass another examination for additional papers introduced in 2004. However, the court found that the petitioner had fulfilled the qualification criteria under the old regulations, making him eligible for the license grant. The court directed the respondents to issue the necessary certificate for the Customs House Agents License to the petitioner, subject to compliance with the requirements prescribed under Regulation 10 of the 2004 regulations within a specified timeframe.