The Mumbai Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in the case of M D Ruparel & Sons Versus Principal Commissioner of Customs (General) has quashed the order revoking customs broker licence for non-adherence with the time-line by licensing authority.
The bench of C J Mathew (Technical Member) and Ajay Sharma (Judicial Member) has observed that the stipulations in regulation17 of Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 would acquire the character of being directory upon demonstration that ‘customs broker’ was responsible for the delay in completion of the proceedings. That is not the case here; on the contrary, it would appear that the administration had, for one reason or the other, failed to comply with the prescriptions.
The appellant, M/s M D Ruparel & Sons, holder of customs broker licence found themselves amidst the ‘make-believe’ world of ‘dream merchants’ from which they were transported back to the ‘real world’ from having been subjected to proceedings under Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018.
The appellant had filed bills of entry for M/s Firoza Movie International Enterprises, who, having procured ‘blank cartridges 9mm Kaiser’ that they informed as also to be ‘air gun pellet dummy’, sought clearance thereof in line with similar imports that had been permitted in April and June of the same year through another customs broker.
The appellant contended that the proceedings, principles of natural justice had been violated inasmuch as the documents relating to the earlier imports, that had been cleared without objection, were not provided to them and that statements of the importer as well as the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Hyderabad, which had been relied upon, were not tested through cross-examination of both – the deponent as well as the licensing authority – despite their request.
The tribunal held that the licensing authority has attempted to transform mandatory stipulations as directory without being in consonance with the decision of the High Court of Bombay in re Unison Clearing Pvt Ltd, the proceedings failed at the threshold itself.
Case Details
Case Title: M D Ruparel & Sons Versus Principal Commissioner of Customs (General)
Case No.: Customs Appeal No: 85351 Of 2024
Date: 04/12/2024
Counsel For Appellant: J C Patel
Counsel For Respondent: Ranjan Kumar
