Customs house agent licence revocation cannot rest on exporter fraud or goods quality where no duty to verify value exists.

A customs house agent licence could not be revoked on the facts proved, because the proceedings were not shown to have been properly directed against the proprietary firm itself and the enquiry centred on an individual office bearer in his personal capacity. The evidence also indicated that the person concerned was merely procuring business and acting for the exporter, rather than using the agent's licence without authority. Since a customs house agent has no duty to verify the quality or value of exported goods, the finding of inferior export quality did not justify licence revocation or forfeiture of the security deposit. The revocation was therefore set aside with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether revocation of the customs house agent licence and forfeiture of security deposit were justified on the facts proved against the agent.

Analysis: The proceedings stemmed from a fraudulent export case handled through the customs house agent, but the record showed that the proprietary firm itself was not specifically proceeded against for cancellation of licence and that the enquiry and penalty focused on an individual office bearer in his personal capacity. The evidence from cross-examination indicated that the alleged wrongdoer was only procuring business and acting as a representative of the exporter, rather than functioning as an unauthorised user of the agent's licence. The export goods were also found to be of inferior quality, but a customs house agent has no obligation to verify the quality or value of the goods exported.

Conclusion: Revocation of the licence was not warranted and was set aside, with consequential relief granted to the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: A customs house agent cannot be penalised by revocation of licence for matters beyond its professional obligation, particularly where the alleged fraud is not established against the firm itself and the agent is under no duty to verify the quality or value of exported goods.

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