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TMI Blog2024 (1) TMI 645X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to the department, was made good and the vehicles cleared upon payment of necessary dues. Though there is no denying the fact that the appellant had committed grave error in law, and we find them to have contravened the legal stipulations. It is also noted that the licence has now been revoked for nearly 10 years and more. This in itself, effecting the livelihood of the appellant, is considerable punishment and beyond what ought to have been imposed upon the appellant for various breaches. It is thus noted that the appellant have undergone grave hardship. The consequences of the aforesaid violation have been significantly harsh vis- -vis, the infringement in law made through Manish Chatwani by the appellant by way of lending out their ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... spended the CHA licence granted at Mumbai vide Order No.56/2009 dated 26.10.2009 which was subsequently followed up with the suspension of their CHA license No.T-18 issued at Calcutta, vide order No.2/2010 dated 05.01.2010 under Regulation 20(2) of the CHALR, 2004. The appellants were subsequently issued show cause notice dt. 28.05.2010 in terms of Regulation 22(1) alleging violation of Regulation 12, 13(a), 13(b), 13(d), 13(e) and 19(8) of the said Regulations (CHALR 2004). 4. The facts leading to the aforesaid cause of action relate to an investigation conducted by DRI, whereby it found that certain Mumbai based operators imported high end cars/SUVs in the name of third parties by resorting to fraudulent means in breach of the provisio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cerns various obligations cast upon the CHA in law, for the sake of ready reference, the provisions which were held to be violated are enumerated hereunder:- CHALR, 2004 : Regulation : 12. Licence not transferable. Every licence granted or renewed under these regulations shall be deemed to have been granted or renewed in favour of the licensee, and no licence shall be sold or otherwise transferred. 13. Obligations of Customs House Agent. A Customs House Agent shall (a) obtain an authorization from each of the companies, firms or individuals by whom he is for the time being employed as Customs House Agent and produce such authorization whenever required by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Cu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the guise of low end vehicles e.g. Land Rover L 322 model 4.0 litre V8 Petrol declared as L 322 3.6 ligres Diesel V8, thus facilitating under valuation. (iv) Suppression of value of accessories installed in the vehicle which subsequently enhances its value. (v) Mis-use of cars imported under EPCG Scheme through certain operators. 9. The Power of Attorney holder - Manish Chatwani as brought out in the investigation is a key conspirator and an enabler. He has also admitted of his complicity in clearance of 11 vehicles through Nhava Sheva Customs House by filing Bills of Entry through CHA M/s. Tulip International (appellant). It is brought out on record that one Mr.Balu Patil, got the aforesaid job of clearance of the vehicle to Mani ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng of the CHA license. This therefore establishes the lending of the licences for a consideration in violation of Regulation 12. There is nothing to establish on record that Manish Chatwani was in any way concerned with the appellant as an employee. We note that there is nothing on record to indicate seeking of an authorization from the 11 importers of the said cars in the present matter and therefore Regulation 13(a) as incorporated in the notice has been clearly violated. It is an admitted position that Balu Patil had sourced to Manish Chatwani the impugned business who in turn had procured the business from Charanjit Singh. Thus the actual importers and their authorization are nowhere in picture. Further, they had not appeared anywhere d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the role of Manish Chatwani and the case laws relied upon by the appellants:- I agree with the spirit of these judgements that when an employee of a CHA firm has done something wrong and has done it in his own purely personal capacity without the knowledge of the CHA firm, the entire CHA should not be punished . 11. We however note that the licence of the CHA firm was revoked vide Order dated 18.06.2013 and the Security Deposit furnished by the appellant, ordered to be forfeited. It has been brought to our notice that at least in 8 cases, any revenue loss caused to the department, was made good and the vehicles cleared upon payment of necessary dues. Though there is no denying the fact that the appellant had committed grave error i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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