Repeat show cause notice on identical allegations was impermissible while earlier proceedings were pending and stayed.

A repeat show cause notice issued under Regulation 20(1) of the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2013 on the same allegations and for the same period was impermissible when an earlier notice and challenge were already pending and stayed. The High Court treated the second notice as unsustainable on that technical ground, while expressly limiting its interference to the procedural impropriety and not the merits of the allegations. The impugned notice was quashed and the writ petition was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued under sub-regulation 1 of Regulation 20 of the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2013 was liable to be quashed on the ground that it was a repeat notice issued on the same allegations while the earlier notice and challenge thereto were already pending and stayed.

Analysis: The petitioner challenged the impugned notice as being without jurisdiction because the very same allegations and period had already formed the subject matter of an earlier notice and writ proceedings. The earlier challenge had resulted in a stay, and the respondents did not dispute that the prior proceeding was pending before the Court with the stay operating. In such circumstances, issuance of another notice on the same set of allegations was found impermissible. The notice was therefore held unsustainable, though the Court made it clear that the interference was confined to the technical aspect and not the merits of the allegations.

Conclusion: The impugned show cause notice was quashed and the writ petition was allowed on a technical ground.

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