Proper officer jurisdiction under Customs law: pre-2011 show cause notice held invalid, and retrospective cure rejected.

A show cause notice issued under the Customs Act, 1962 before 08.04.2011 was invalid where the officer issuing it had not been assigned the functions of assessment or reassessment and was therefore not the proper officer under Section 2(34). The Tribunal applied the Delhi High Court's interpretation of Section 28(11) and held that the retrospective amendment did not cure this jurisdictional defect. On that basis, the consequent adjudication and appellate orders could not stand, and the impugned orders were set aside with consequential relief to the appellant.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued by the Joint Director, DRI prior to the amendment inserting Section 28(11) of the Customs Act, 1962 was without jurisdiction for want of proper officer status, and whether the consequent adjudication and appellate orders could survive.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed the Delhi High Court ruling on the scope of Section 28(11) and the definition of "proper officer" under Section 2(34). It noted that the retrospective amendment did not validate show cause notices issued before 08.04.2011 where the officer issuing notice had not been assigned the functions of assessment or reassessment under Section 17. The Tribunal accepted that the notice in the present case had been issued before the amendment and by an officer not shown to have been vested with the necessary jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The show cause notice was without jurisdiction and the impugned orders were set aside. The appeal succeeded with consequential relief to the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: A show cause notice under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 issued before 08.04.2011 is invalid if issued by an officer who was not assigned the functions of assessment or reassessment and therefore was not the proper officer under Section 2(34); Section 28(11) does not retrospectively cure that jurisdictional defect.

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