Court sets aside order for breach of natural justice, requires fresh proceeding for missing documents.

The court set aside the impugned order due to a breach of natural justice during the proceedings. The Commissioner of Customs passed a fresh order without including crucial documents as directed by the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The court emphasized the department's responsibility to produce documents and ordered clarification on their availability. The Deputy Commissioner admitted certain documents were unavailable. The court directed a fresh proceeding, allowing the petitioners to submit additional documents and participate fully. The petition was disposed of, and the notice was discharged.

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Issues:
Challenge to order due to breach of natural justice in conducting proceedings.

Analysis:
The petitioners challenged an order dated 25.04.2017, citing a serious breach of natural justice during the proceedings. They argued against being relegated to the appeal route, emphasizing errors made by the adjudicating authority. The Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) had directed the departmental authorities to bring crucial documents on record in a previous round of litigation. However, the fresh order passed failed to consider these directions, leading to a lack of proper hearing and recording incorrect information about the petitioners not bringing the documents on record.

In response to the CESTAT's directions regarding the vital documents, the Commissioner of Customs (Kandla) passed a fresh order without including these documents. The department claimed to have requested the documents from DRI, Mumbai, but they were not supplied. The petitioners later obtained the documents directly from DRI, Mumbai. The Tribunal's judgment with the directions remained unchallenged by the department, making it necessary for them to comply. The court emphasized that the department cannot shift the responsibility of producing documents onto the petitioners and ordered the respondents to file an affidavit clarifying the availability of the documents with DRI Mumbai or any other Union of India authority.

In response to the court's order, the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kandla, stated in an affidavit that certain documents were not available, while others were already on record. The court highlighted that if the petitioners possess copies of the additional documents, they should produce them before the adjudicating authority. Consequently, the impugned order dated 25.04.2017 was set aside, and the adjudicating authority was directed to proceed afresh, allowing the petitioners to submit additional documents if desired. The petitioners were also granted the opportunity to participate in the proceedings, make submissions, and raise contentions regarding non-availability of documents, including adverse inferences against the department. The judgment concluded by disposing of the petition accordingly and discharging the notice.

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