Court quashes show cause notice for jurisdictional issues under Customs Broker Licensing Regulations

The Court allowed the writ petition, quashing the show cause notice issued under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2013, due to jurisdictional issues arising from a previous notice for the same allegation and period. The Court emphasized that issuing repetitive notices based on the same allegations was improper and unjustified, especially when a previous petition was pending with an order of stay in force. The impugned notice was deemed legally untenable, leading to its quashing solely on the technical ground of being issued during the pendency of a previous petition.

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Issues:
Challenge to show cause notice under Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2013 on grounds of jurisdiction due to prior notice issued for the same allegation and period.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged a show cause notice issued under Sub Regulation 1 of Regulation 20 of the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2013, arguing that it lacked jurisdiction as a previous notice for the same allegation and period had been issued earlier. The petitioner had filed a writ petition (W.P.No.31596 of 2014) challenging a show cause notice dated 31.10.2014, which was a repetition of a previous notice dated 02.07.2014. The Court had granted an interim stay on the second notice on 03.12.2014, and the first writ petition (W.P.No.21941 of 2014) had been allowed by the Court on 15.09.2014, concluding that issuing another notice after the disposal of the first petition was unjustified. The Court emphasized that the authority issuing a show cause notice should have an open mind, and issuing repetitive notices based on the same allegations was improper.

The petitioner contended that the second show cause notice was a verbatim repetition of the first notice, and since the first writ petition was still pending with an order of stay in force, issuing another notice for the same allegations was legally untenable. The Court acknowledged that the earlier writ petition was still pending and the show cause notice dated 31.10.2014 had been stayed, leading to the conclusion that the impugned notice could not be sustained in law. Consequently, the Court allowed the writ petition, quashing the impugned order solely on the technical ground of the notice being issued while a previous petition was pending, without delving into the merits of the case. No costs were awarded, and the connected Writ Miscellaneous Petition was closed.

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