2019 (2) TMI 451 - HC - Customs

Maintainability of petition - the authority who issued the said notice is not lacking any jurisdiction or competency - Held that - The petitioner has already filed the reply to the notice on 18.06.2018. If a reply was already filed by the petitioner to the impugned show cause notice, they have to wait for the adjudication to complete. Without doing so, filing the present writ petition challenging the very notice itself, cannot be entertained. Factual contentions raised touching upon the merits of the allegation made in the show cause notice cannot be gone into by this Court, at this stage - the petitioner is directed to canvass all the contentions before the Adjudicating Authority during adjudicating proceedings - petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to show cause notice validity, maintainability of writ petition against show cause notice, jurisdiction and competency of the authority issuing notice, petitioner's reply to the notice, adjudication process, participation in adjudication proceedings, raising contentions before the Adjudicating Authority.

Analysis:
The writ petition challenges the show cause notice issued on 25.04.2018. The petitioner argues that the notice did not consider various aspects, including the finality of the subject matter Bill of Entries released by following relevant notifications. However, the Court finds the writ not maintainable against the show cause notice, especially when the issuing authority has jurisdiction and competency. The petitioner had already filed a reply to the notice on 18.06.2018. The Court emphasizes that challenging the notice itself through a writ petition before the completion of adjudication is premature. The Court refrains from delving into the factual contentions at this stage, stating that the petitioner can raise all contentions during the adjudication process.

The Court disposes of the Writ Petition without expressing any view on the merits, directing the petitioner to present all contentions before the Adjudicating Authority during the adjudication proceedings. The Court highlights that the petitioner's participation in the adjudication process is crucial, and the grievances expressed in the writ petition cannot be addressed at this stage as the adjudication is pending. No costs are imposed, and the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed as a result of this judgment.