Customs notice timing under seizure law turns on valid dispatch within the statutory period, not actual receipt by the owner.

Under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, compliance is met when the notice under Section 124(a) is issued in a legally recognised mode within six months of seizure; actual receipt by the affected person is not required where despatch by registered post has occurred in time. The Collector may extend that period on sufficient cause shown by the investigating authority, and the person from whom the goods were seized is not entitled to be heard before that administrative decision. On the stated facts, the notice was validly issued within time and the extension was not invalid for want of notice to the petitioner or for lack of sufficient cause.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice under the Customs Act, 1962 was issued within the period prescribed by Section 110(2), and whether the Collector could validly extend that period without hearing the person from whom the goods were seized.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of Section 110(2) requires notice under Section 124(a) to be given within six months of seizure, subject to extension by the Collector on sufficient cause being shown. Reading this with Section 153, which permits service by tendering the notice or by sending it by registered post, the relevant act is the issuance of the notice in a legally recognised mode, not actual receipt by the affected person. On the admitted facts, the notice was despatched by registered post within the six-month period. As to extension, the provision contemplates satisfaction of the Collector on sufficient cause shown by the investigating authority; the person from whom the goods were seized is not a necessary participant in that administrative determination. The extension in this case was made before expiry of the initial period and was supported by the delay in despatching the notice.

Conclusion: The notice was validly issued within time, and the extension of time was not invalid for want of notice to the petitioner or for absence of sufficient cause.

Ratio Decidendi: For Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, compliance is satisfied by valid issuance of the notice within the prescribed period, and the Collector may extend time on sufficient cause shown without hearing the person from whom the goods were seized.

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