Sea Queen Shipping Services Private Limited Vs Commissioner of Customs (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court held that inquiry report under Regulation 17 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulation, 2018 [CBLR] submitted beyond the period of 90 days is against mandate provided under sub-Regulation (5) of Regulation 17 hence inquiry report is illegal, arbitrary and barred by limitation.
Facts- One M/s. Anomsoft Solutions Private Limited, which is an importer, had imported goods. Pursuant to an investigation initiated against the said importer, the goods were examined and after examination, it was found that the items mentioned in the Bills of Entry had no relation with the business activities mentioned in the GST numbers of the importer. The petitioner filed the Bills of Entry as a customs broker. Thereafter, the investigation was conducted with the importer and their statement was recorded. Searches were also conducted even in the premises of the petitioner.
The Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Chennai Customs Zone, Chennai-1 passed an order dated 21.12.2024 suspending the customs broker licence of the petitioner under Regulation 16(1) of the CBLR, 2018.
The show cause notice dated 17.1.2025 came to be issued by the Principal Commissioner of Customs (General) stating that the petitioner failed to fulfill their responsibilities as per Regulations 10(d), 10(n) and 10(q) of the CBLR, 2018. The petitioner was also called upon to explain as to why the licence issued to them should not be revoked, the security deposit made by them should not be forfeited and the penalty should not be imposed under Regulations 14 and 18 of the CBLR, 2018.
