Jurisdiction to revoke a Customs House Agent licence lies with the issuing Commissionerate; cross-jurisdiction revocation stayed pending appeal.

A Commissioner of Customs cannot, on the prima facie view recorded, revoke or suspend a Customs House Agent licence issued by another Commissionerate. The licence in question had been granted by one Commissionerate and the revocation order was issued by another, raising a jurisdictional objection. The Board's circular was relied on for the proposition that suspension or revocation should be initiated only by the Commissioner who issued the licence, while other Commissioners may only prohibit operation within their jurisdiction. On that basis, the impugned revocation order was stayed pending appeal.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner of Customs at Coimbatore had jurisdiction to revoke a Customs House Agent licence issued by another Commissionerate, and whether the impugned order should be stayed pending appeal.

Analysis: The licence had been originally issued by the Commissioner of Customs at Mumbai, while the impugned revocation order was passed by the Commissioner of Customs, Coimbatore. The order records a prima facie view that a Commissioner cannot revoke or suspend a licence granted by another Commissioner of a different jurisdiction. Support for this view was also drawn from the Board's circular, which states that suspension or revocation action should be initiated only by the Commissioner who issued the licence, while other Commissioners may only prohibit operation within their jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The impugned order was stayed during pendency of the appeal, and the stay petition was allowed.

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