9911796707
TMI Blog1997 (9) TMI 223X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... loyees obtained Customs Passes for them, and that it handed over shipping bills, signed but not containing any other particulars to Amol Shipping Agency and thus aided and abetted it in an attempted misuse of the DEEC Scheme by misdeclaring description of goods in 3 shipping bills in connivance with the exporter. After issue of the notice to the appellant under the regulation provision is cancellation of licence as Assistant Collector was appointed as Enquiry Officer. The Enquiry Officer in his report has held all three charges have been proved. The Commissioner after considering the report of the Enquiry Officer and hearing the appellant s advocate has passed the orders cancelling the licence. Hence this appeal. 2. The Advocate for the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fore the Customs. 4. The essence of the charges is that the appellant permitted Amol Shipping Agency, and its employees to work as Custom House Agent, by permitting its employees to operate under cover of the licence issued to it and by obtaining for its employees Custom Passes by misrepresenting them as employees of the appellant. Regulation 13 provides that every licence granted or renewed under the Regulation shall be deemed to have been granted and renewed in favour of the licensee and no licence shall be sold or otherwise transferred. In the proceedings of enquiry conducted before the Assistant Commissioner, it was contended for the licensee that has not transferred the licence but only carried out the work relating to Custom House b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of Amol Shipping? The answer has been provided by Shrimankar in his own statement, that was to allow Amol Shipping Agency to make use of the facilities which the appellants licence made available access to the Custom House and its employees and to the premises and officials of the Mumbai Port Trust and of representing various exporters and importers before Shrimankar in his statement has said that in consideration of Amol Shipping depositing Rs. 30,000/- with him and paying Rs. 5,000/- monthly he used to give shipping bill forms blank, except for his signature to Amol Shipping Agency. I would follow from this that any person was in possession of such documents could fill in any particulars correct or incorrect about a particular consignmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... esentations before the Custom House on behalf of the importer and exporter relating to the nature of the goods conditions under which they were imported their value etc. The statements that he makes and the information that he provide are crucial for assessing the goods to duty and deciding whether the import is prohibited or not. The Custom House Agent thus can the status of a professionally qualified person akin to an advocate, Chartered Accountant or number of other professions which requires a minimum standards of knowledge for minimum standards of conduct. If the Custom House Agent acts negligently or dishonestly, the Custom House can be defrauded money due to the Government, and in good faith permit import or export of prohibited good ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... requirement prescribed by the Commissioner of conducting the minimum volume of business. Reliance was also placed on the Tribunal s decision in Johar Enterprises v. Collector of Customs - 1996 (84) E.L.T. 226 to say that leniency should be exercised. The fact that Shrimankar could not run up enough business legally to satisfy the requirement of minimum quantum of business to be conducted does not in any way justify the action of the appellant in handing over completely its work and functions to M/s. Amol Shipping without giving a thought to the interests of the department. This was not an isolated case of one shipping bill being handed over; nor was it a case where the licence was cancelled because of a fault of a employee as was the posit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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