2017 (9) TMI 595 - AT - Customs

Jurisdiction - power of CC(P) to issue SCN - Held that - the notice issued by the CC(P) who was not a competent authority as per the ratio laid down in the case of Mangali Impex Ltd. Vs. UOI 2016 (5) TMI 225 - DELHI HIGH COURT - In this connection, we note that similar issues have been dealt with in various cases by the Tribunal recently. It is held that the matters have to be remanded back to the original authority for a decision - appeal allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of DRI officers to issue show cause notices under the Customs Act.

Analysis:
The Appellate Tribunal heard appeals where both parties agreed that the notice was issued by the CC(P), challenged as not competent based on a Delhi High Court ruling. The Tribunal noted similar issues in recent cases. Referring to a previous case, the Tribunal discussed the jurisdiction issue. The appellant argued that DRI officers were not proper officers as per a Supreme Court decision. The Customs Act was amended post the Supreme Court decision, assigning proper officer functions to various officers, including ADG-DRI. Subsequent amendments further clarified DRI officers' jurisdiction. The Delhi High Court ruled against DRI officers' jurisdiction pre-amendment, favoring the assessee. However, conflicting views from other High Courts led to the matter reaching the Supreme Court, which stayed the Delhi High Court's judgment. Another Delhi High Court case granted liberty to review based on the Supreme Court's decision in a similar matter. Following the Delhi High Court's ratio in a specific case, the Tribunal remanded the issue to the original authority pending the Supreme Court's decision, maintaining status quo.

The Tribunal remanded the matters for fresh decision based on previous rulings and parties' agreement. The appeals were disposed of accordingly.