Mandatory customs broker licence timelines make delayed revocation proceedings unsustainable where the offence report triggers regulation time limits.

Under the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, the offence report and follow-on show cause notice must comply with the prescribed time limits. The Commissioner's suspension of the licence on the basis of the DRI communication showed that the communication was treated as the offence report, so the later revocation notice had to be issued within the regulatory period. Because the show cause notice and the enquiry report were completed well beyond that mandatory timeline, the revocation proceedings were time-barred and unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether proceedings for revocation of a customs house agent licence were vitiated for failure to issue the show cause notice within the period prescribed under Regulation 22(5) of the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, treating the DRI communication dated 12.06.2013 as the offence report.

Analysis: The Commissioner of Customs had acted on the initial DRI communication by suspending the licence under Regulation 20(2) of the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, which showed that the communication was treated as the offence report. Under the regulatory scheme, the show cause notice had to follow within the prescribed time limit, and the subsequent enquiry report was also completed well beyond that period. The regulatory timelines are mandatory, and breach of those time limits renders the proceeding unsustainable.

Conclusion: The revocation proceedings were time-barred and could not be sustained.

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