CHA licence suspension pending enquiry requires prima facie material linking misdeclaration to the licence holder

Suspension of a CHA licence under Regulation 21(2) was held unwarranted where the bills of entry had been filed through a Customs-issued Form H card holder and the alleged misdeclaration was not shown, even prima facie, to have been made by the appellants themselves. The record also did not show any disowning of the appellants' authority by the importers or initiation of proceedings against them for the alleged misdeclaration. In the absence of supporting material, the drastic power of suspension before completion of enquiry could not be justified, and the suspension order was set aside.

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Issues: Whether suspension of the CHA licence under Regulation 21(2) of the Custom House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984 was justified pending enquiry.

Analysis: The records showed that the bills of entry had been filed on behalf of the appellants by a Form H card holder issued by the Customs authorities, and the alleged misdeclaration was not shown, at least prima facie, to have been made by the appellants on their own. There was no material to show that the importers had disowned the appellants' authority, and the record did not show that proceedings had been initiated against the importers for the alleged misdeclaration. In these circumstances, the drastic power of suspension under Regulation 21(2) was not warranted before completion of enquiry. The observations regarding unauthorised handling of Customs documents were also not supported by the material on record.

Conclusion: The suspension order could not be sustained and was set aside.

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