Pranij Heights India Private Limited Vs Joint Commissioner of Customs (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court (Delhi High Court) considered a writ petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India challenging delayed adjudication of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 7 July 2023 issued by the Office of the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Import).
The background of the case was that the petitioner had imported aluminium foil and availed exemption at a preferential rate of duty by submitting Certificates of Origin (COOs) from Malaysia and Thailand under the ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement, in terms of Notification No. 46/2011-Cus dated 1 June 2011. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had issued an alert circular in September 2021 stating that certain COOs for imports from Malaysia and Thailand were not authentic. On verification, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia, informed by email dated 7 December 2021 that the COOs submitted by the petitioner were not authentic and that applications for issuance of such COOs had never been received from the suppliers concerned.
The petitioner’s imports covered the period from 6 July 2018 to 6 March 2020. Based on the verification, an SCN dated 7 July 2023 was issued proposing rejection of the exemption benefit, recovery of duties, and imposition of penalty. The petitioner alleged that relevant relied-upon documents (RUDs) were not supplied and that no effective adjudication took place for over one year. It was contended that notice for personal hearing was received only in October 2024, beyond the one-year period stipulated under Section 28(9) of the Customs Act, 1962. According to the petitioner, the SCN could not be adjudicated as the extension of time, if any, had not been communicated.
