Customs house agent licence compliance: alleged use of an intermediary was not proved, so no regulatory breach was found.

A customs house agent was alleged to have misused his licence by routing clearance work through an intermediary and by not conducting business personally or through approved employees as required under the Customs House Agents (Licensing) Regulations, 1984. The alleged breach of Regulations 13 and 14(b) depended on the claim that the agent's employees could not have worked for him and the intermediary simultaneously, but the record did not support that assertion. As the employees were treated as the agent's own and the work was carried on in his name through those employees, the alleged contravention was not established. No violation of Regulation 13 or Regulation 14(b) was made out, and the revenue challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the customs house agent had contravened Regulation 13 and Regulation 14(b) of the Customs House Agents (Licensing) Regulations, 1984 by permitting clearance work through an intermediary and by the manner in which the work was handled by employees.

Analysis: The memorandum alleged misuse of the licence, transfer of business through a middleman, and non-compliance with the requirement that business in the Custom House be carried personally or through approved employees. The finding against the agent, however, depended on the assertion that the employees could not have worked for the agent and the intermediary at the same time. The record did not support that assertion with evidence. The agent had claimed the employees as his own, and even if business was procured through another person, the work was carried on in the agent's own name through his own employees. On that basis, the alleged contravention was not established.

Conclusion: No violation of Regulation 13 or Regulation 14(b) was made out, and the revenue appeal failed.

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