Court Grants Temporary Relief, Stays Order Challenged by Petitioners in Customs Case; Further Hearings Scheduled.

The HC granted ad-interim relief to the petitioners by staying the impugned Order-in-Original dated 5th December 2023, following the precedent set in similar cases. The petitioners challenged the legality of the show cause notice issued by the DRI, citing a SC decision in Canon India Private Limited vs. Commissioner of Customs. The respondents were given the liberty to apply for vacating the stay after the SC's decision in the pending Review/Writ Petition. All contentions were kept open, and the case was scheduled for further hearing with Writ Petition No.1929 of 2023.

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Issues involved: Challenge to show cause notice u/s DRI, legality of adjudication by DRI

Summary:

Issue 1: Challenge to show cause notice u/s DRI
The petitioners challenged the show cause notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). They argued that the adjudication on the show cause notice would be illegal based on a Supreme Court decision in the case of Canon India Private Limited vs. Commissioner of Customs. The respondents did not dispute that the show cause notice was issued by the DRI. The Court decided to pass similar orders as in previous cases such as Elite Aromas Vs. Union of India and Heranba Industries vs. The Union of India & Ors. The Court granted an ad-interim relief staying the impugned Order-in-Original dated 5th December 2023, with liberty for the respondents to apply for vacating the said orders after the decision of the Supreme Court in the pending Review/Writ Petition in the case Canon India Limited. All contentions of the parties were kept open, and the matter was scheduled to be heard along with Writ Petition No.1929 of 2023.

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