Icon Fibres Fabrics Pvt Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Customs (Delhi High Court)
In a significant development for customs law enforcement, the Delhi High Court has declared that officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are indeed “proper officers” under the Customs Act, 1962, and are competent to issue show cause notices under Section 28 of the Act. This clarification comes in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Commissioner of Customs v. M/s Canon India Private Limited (Canon – II), pronounced on November 7, 2024, which resolved long-standing ambiguity surrounding the jurisdiction of such officers.
The Delhi High Court’s ruling, made in the appeal filed by Icon Fibres Fabrics Pvt. Ltd. against the Commissioner of Customs, was part of a batch of cases that had been adjourned awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Canon – II review petition (Review Petition No. 400/2021). The initial Canon India Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs (Canon – I) judgment had created uncertainty by holding that DRI officers were not “proper officers” for issuing show cause notices under Section 28, thus invalidating many such notices.
Supreme Court’s Clarification in Canon – II
The Canon – II judgment comprehensively addressed the issue, stating categorically that “officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Commissionerates of Customs (Preventive), Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence and Commissionerates of Central Excise and other similarly situated officers are proper officers for the purposes of Section 28 and are competent to issue show cause notice thereunder.” This ruling effectively overturned the earlier restrictive interpretation and validated the actions of these officers.
