Jurisdiction to adjudicate customs notices requires valid authorisation; absence of notification rendered the adjudication without competence.

Jurisdiction to adjudicate a customs show cause notice depended on valid authorisation under the customs framework, and where no notification empowered the Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication), Mumbai to decide notices relating to Sahar Air Cargo imports, the adjudication was without competence. The impugned order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded to the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction to adjudicate the notice.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order was vitiated for want of jurisdiction in the absence of a notification authorising the Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication), Mumbai to decide the show cause notice under the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The appeals turned on the competence of the authority that adjudicated the notices. The record showed that the notices had been issued in relation to imports at Sahar Air Cargo, while the impugned adjudication was carried out by the Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication), Mumbai. In the absence of the requisite authorisation under the governing customs framework, the adjudicating authority lacked jurisdiction to decide the notices.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction to adjudicate the show cause notice.

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