Service of notice within six months under customs seizure law is mandatory; mere issuance does not save the detention.

Section 110(2) of the Customs Act requires notice under Section 124(a) to be served within six months of seizure; mere issuance is insufficient. Applying the earlier Division Bench view, the court treated "given" as meaning actual service, not dispatch or issue. Because the notice was served after the six-month period and no extension had been granted by the Commissioner, the statutory consequence of return of the seized goods was attracted. The provision was also noted as applicable to central excise proceedings through Section 12 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

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Issues: Whether, for purposes of Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, the requirement that notice be "given" within six months of seizure is satisfied by mere issuance of the notice or only by its service, and whether seized goods must be released when no extension of time has been granted.

Analysis: Section 110(2) requires that notice under Section 124(a) be given within six months of seizure, failing which the goods are to be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized. The Court applied the earlier Division Bench view that the word "given" in this provision means service of the notice and not merely its issuance. As the notice was served after the expiry of six months and the period was not extended by the Commissioner, the statutory mandate for return of the goods stood attracted. The applicability of this provision to central excise proceedings was also noted through Section 12 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Conclusion: The notice was required to be served within six months, mere issuance was insufficient, and the seized goods had to be released to the person from whose possession they were seized.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded to the extent of release of the seized goods, while the adjudication and penalty proceedings were left open to continue in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: In Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, the expression "given" means service of the notice, and if such service is not effected within the prescribed period without extension, the seized goods must be returned.

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