The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the revocation of a customs broker licence issued to M/s. ACS Shipping & Logistics, holding that customs broker licence can’t be revoked beyond 90-day after receiving an offence report.
The bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan observed that the Commissioner of Customs, Tuticorin, had failed to act within the statutorily prescribed 90-day period after receiving an “offence report.” The proceedings initiated by the Customs Department were barred by limitation under the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR), 2018.
The petitioner, ACS Shipping & Logistics, a Tuticorin-based licensed customs broker, had its licence revoked by the Tuticorin Customs Commissionerate on February 25, 2022. The order also forfeited the firm’s security deposit and imposed a penalty of ₹50,000.
The action was based on allegations that one exporter, M/s. J. Tex India, had fraudulently availed ineligible IGST refunds, drawback, and rewards using bogus GST credentials. ACS Shipping had filed seven shipping bills for the said exporter as its customs broker.
The Department claimed that the broker failed to exercise due diligence under Regulation 10(n) of the CBLR, 2018. However, the petitioner contended that the revocation proceedings were initiated well beyond the 90-day limitation period from the date of the “offence report.”
The customs broker argued that the alleged offence occurred between June and September 2018, and the DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) had investigated the case. The Mumbai Customs Commissionerate had issued a prohibitory order on November 18, 2020, restricting the petitioner from operating within its jurisdiction. A copy of that prohibitory order was marked to the Tuticorin Commissionerate, yet the show-cause notice was issued only on September 14, 2021, well past the 90-day window prescribed under Regulation 17(1) of the CBLR, 2018. The department had failed to produce any evidence of when it actually received the offence report.
The Customs Department argued that the action was valid and not barred by limitation. He maintained that the “offence report” was received only in June 2021, and that the proceedings were commenced accordingly.
The court after examining the record, held that the prohibitory order issued by the Mumbai Commissionerate on November 18, 2020, which detailed the investigation and cited the role of the petitioner, qualified as an “offence report” under Regulation 17.
The Court observed that Regulation 17(1) mandates issuance of a notice within 90 days from the date of receipt of an offence report. The explanation to Regulation 17 defines “offence report” as a summary of investigation and framing of charges against a customs broker. The Department failed to show when the report was actually received and did not produce any affidavit or proo to substantiate its claim. Since official acts are presumed to be regular, it was reasonable to infer that the Tuticorin Customs office received the report in due course after it was marked to them in November 2020.
“The respondent has miserably failed to discharge the obligation cast on him to show that the impugned action was initiated within the prescribed period,” the Judge stated, concluding that the revocation proceedings were time-barred.
The Court quashed the Order reinstating the licence of ACS Shipping & Logistics. The writ petition was allowed with no order as to costs, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.
Case Details
Case Title: ACS Shipping & Logistics Versus The Commissioner of Customs
Case No.: W.P(MD)No.4416 of 2022
Date: 22.10.2025
Counsel For Petitioner: S.Baskaran
Counsel For Respondent: R.Gowrishankar
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