Reasonable time for customs notices under Section 124: inordinate unexplained delay can render action arbitrary and unconstitutional.

Show cause notices under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962 cannot be issued after an inordinate and unexplained delay merely because the provision contains no express limitation period. The Madras HC noted that statutory power must still be exercised within a reasonable time, distinguished authorities relating to Section 110, and held that the absence of a fixed deadline does not permit arbitrary action. In the context of customs proceedings and the scheme of the Act, including the longer period contemplated under Section 28, initiation nearly 12 years after import was held to be unreasonable and violative of Article 14, rendering the notices unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether show cause notices issued under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962 nearly 12 years after import could be sustained, or whether such delayed initiation of proceedings was vitiated as arbitrary and contrary to Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962 does not prescribe an express limitation period, but the absence of a statutory time limit does not authorise action at any time without regard to reasonableness. The Court distinguished the authorities dealing with Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and held that while the seizure limitation under that provision does not control confiscation proceedings under Section 124, proceedings under Section 124 must still be initiated within a reasonable time. Relying on the settled principle that statutory power must be exercised within a reasonable period where no limitation is prescribed, and considering the scheme of the Act including the longer period contemplated under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Court held that initiation of proceedings after 12 years was inordinate and arbitrary.

Conclusion: The impugned notices were unsustainable and liable to be set aside for unreasonable delay.

Ratio Decidendi: Where no limitation period is prescribed for initiating customs proceedings, the power must nevertheless be exercised within a reasonable time, and an inordinate unexplained delay renders the action arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

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