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Court quashes order violating natural justice, remands for fresh decision. The court found that the order enhancing the assessable value of goods without granting the petitioner a personal hearing violated principles of natural ...
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Court quashes order violating natural justice, remands for fresh decision.
The court found that the order enhancing the assessable value of goods without granting the petitioner a personal hearing violated principles of natural justice. The court quashed the impugned order, remanded the matter for a fresh decision after affording the petitioner a hearing, and allowed provisional clearance of Bills of Entry by providing a bond for the differential duty amount. The court held the order-in-original as unsustainable due to the breach of natural justice and directed restoration of proceedings with an opportunity for the petitioner to be heard.
Issues: Challenge to order enhancing assessable value of goods without affording opportunity of personal hearing and violating principles of natural justice.
Analysis: The petition challenged an order-in-original passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, ICD Khodiyar, Gandhinagar, which enhanced the assessable value of Glass Chaton (Beads) Crystal. The petitioner filed multiple Bill of Entries for similar goods and objected to the enhancement of value without being provided with comparable data or documents justifying the increase. Despite the petitioner's requests for a personal hearing and submission of documents, the impugned order was passed ex parte without granting any opportunity of hearing, violating the principles of natural justice.
The petitioner contended that the impugned order was passed in clear violation of natural justice and requested the court to quash the order, set it aside, and remand the matter to the adjudicating authority for a fresh decision after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing. The petitioner also sought permission to clear the Bills of Entry during the proceedings by furnishing a bond for the differential amount of duty.
On the other hand, the respondents argued that the petitioner's request for a personal hearing was received after the assessment was finalized, and hence, no interference was warranted. However, the court observed that despite the petitioner's requests for a personal hearing, the impugned order was passed ex parte without any opportunity of hearing, rendering it unsustainable due to the breach of natural justice principles.
The court held that the impugned order was unsustainable and in breach of natural justice principles. The court allowed the petition, quashed the order-in-original, and restored the proceedings to the adjudicating authority for a fresh decision after granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. The petitioner was permitted to provisionally clear Bills of Entry by furnishing a bond for the full amount of differential duty and a bank guarantee as per the Customs Act, 1962. The rule was made absolute with no order as to costs, and direct service was permitted.
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