Mandatory examination deadline for licence regularisation cannot be cured by an unauthorised extension.

A Customs House Agent's request for regularisation of a temporary licence failed because the oral examination was not passed within the mandatory two-year period prescribed by Regulation 9(1) read with the proviso to Regulation 8(1) of the Customs House Licensing Regulations, 1984. The scheme required strict compliance with that time limit, and no relaxation was permitted. An extension granted beyond the stipulated period without legal authority could not validate the licence or cure the default. As the statutory pre-condition for regularisation was not satisfied in time, the temporary licence remained ineligible for regularisation and the challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether a Customs House Agent was entitled to regularisation of a temporary licence when the oral examination was passed after the prescribed two-year period and the further extension granted beyond that period had no legal sanction.

Analysis: The prescribed scheme required the examination to be passed within two years from the date of grant of the temporary licence under Regulation 9(1) read with the proviso to Regulation 8(1) of the Customs House Licensing Regulations, 1984. The Regulations did not permit relaxation of this requirement. An extension granted beyond the stipulated period without authority of law could not create a valid licence for the purpose of regularisation. Since the appellant did not satisfy the mandatory pre-condition within time, the temporary licence could not be treated as lawfully eligible for regularisation.

Conclusion: The request for regularisation was rightly rejected and the challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory scheme prescribes a mandatory time limit for qualifying an examination as a condition precedent to regularisation of a licence, the condition must be strictly complied with and an unauthorised extension cannot cure the default.

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