Customs House Agent licence suspension invalid where no pending or contemplated inquiry and no urgent grounds were recorded.

A Customs House Agent licence could be suspended under Regulation 20(2) only where immediate action was necessary and an inquiry against the CHA was pending or contemplated. The suspension order was unsustainable because it did not record either jurisdictional requirement, did not disclose facts showing urgency, and was issued after a substantial delay. The preventive power could not be exercised on such a deficient basis, so the suspension was set aside, while the Commissioner remained free to proceed in accordance with law if valid grounds existed.

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Issues: Whether the suspension of a Customs House Agent's licence under Regulation 20(2) of the Customs House Licensing Regulations, 2004 was valid when the order did not record that any inquiry was pending or contemplated and did not disclose circumstances requiring immediate action.

Analysis: Regulation 20(2) permits suspension of a CHA licence only in cases requiring immediate action, and the power is to be exercised where an inquiry against the CHA is pending or contemplated. The suspension order in question did not state that any such inquiry was pending or contemplated, nor did it set out facts showing urgency or immediate necessity. The order was passed after a substantial delay and, on its face, lacked the jurisdictional ingredients required for such preventive suspension.

Conclusion: The suspension was invalid and liable to be set aside.

Final Conclusion: The licence suspension could not be sustained under the regulatory power invoked, though the Commissioner was left free to proceed in accordance with law if valid grounds existed.

Ratio Decidendi: A CHA licence can be suspended under Regulation 20(2) only when immediate action is necessary and an inquiry against the CHA is pending or contemplated; absent those conditions, the suspension order is unsustainable.

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