Premature writ challenge to customs notification declined where no assessment order existed and statutory remedy remained available

A writ challenge to a customs notification was premature where no assessment order had yet been passed by the customs authorities. The court noted that the importer sought to pre-empt the assessment process and contest duty liability before the competent authority determined the issue. Because the Customs Act provided an efficacious statutory appellate remedy against any adverse assessment, writ jurisdiction was not warranted at that stage. The challenge was therefore not entertained, and the importer was left to pursue the customs law process.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging the customs notification was premature in the absence of any assessment order and in view of the availability of an efficacious statutory remedy.

Analysis: The import dispute had not yet culminated in an assessment by the customs authorities. The Court noted that the appellant approached the writ court to pre-empt the assessment process and to challenge the later notification without waiting for the competent authority to determine duty liability. Since the Customs Act provided an appropriate appellate remedy against any adverse assessment, invocation of writ jurisdiction at that stage was not warranted.

Conclusion: The writ petition was rightly treated as premature and the challenge was not entertained. The appellant's remedy lay in the statutory process under the customs law.

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