Customs show cause notice jurisdiction remanded pending Supreme Court ruling on proper officer competence.

The article concerns whether a customs show cause notice issued by DRI officers could stand where their status as proper officers under Section 28 of the Customs Act was disputed. It notes that the issue arose in light of Sayed Ali, the 2011 amendments, the validating provision in Section 28(11), and conflicting High Court views, with the matter pending before the Supreme Court. On that basis, the Tribunal remanded the case for the jurisdictional question to be decided first after the Supreme Court's ruling, and then for the merits to be examined after hearing the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued by DRI officers could be sustained in view of the dispute regarding their jurisdiction as proper officers under the Customs Act, and whether the matter should be remanded pending finality of the Supreme Court proceedings on the issue.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the competence of DRI officers to issue notices under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 after the law declared in Sayed Ali, the subsequent amendment by Finance Act, 2011, Notification No. 44/2011-Cus (N.T.) dated 06.07.2011, and insertion of Section 28(11) of the Customs (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2011. The Tribunal noticed conflicting High Court views on the validity of such notices and that the issue had been stayed and was pending before the Supreme Court. Following earlier Tribunal and High Court orders, it held that the jurisdictional issue should be reconsidered after the Supreme Court outcome and that the assessee must be heard on merits thereafter.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority to decide jurisdiction first after the Supreme Court decision and then decide the case on merits after giving the assessee an opportunity of hearing. The assessee succeeded in obtaining remand relief.

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