Statutory time limit for show cause notice bars continued detention of seized goods without lawful extension under Customs law.

Customs authorities cannot continue to retain seized goods beyond the statutory period for issuing a show cause notice unless a lawful extension is obtained and communicated in accordance with the Customs Act, 1962. The document notes that the seized article was a gold kada weighing 76 grams, the six-month period had expired, and no lawful extension had been shown to have been intimated to the petitioner. Continued detention was therefore impermissible, and the detention was set aside with return of the gold item ordered within four weeks without storage charges.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Customs authorities could continue to detain the petitioner's seized gold kada after expiry of the statutory period for issuing a show cause notice.

Analysis: The detention receipt itself identified the seized article as a gold kada weighing 76 grams, and that fact was not disputed. Under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, once goods are detained, a show cause notice must be issued within the prescribed period, with extension permissible only in accordance with law. In the present case, the six-month period had expired, and no intimation of any lawful extension was shown to have been issued to the petitioner. The continued detention was therefore not permissible.

Conclusion: The detention was set aside, and the petitioner was entitled to return of the gold item within four weeks without storage charges.

Ratio Decidendi: Seized goods cannot be retained beyond the statutory period for issuance of a show cause notice unless a lawful extension is obtained and communicated in accordance with the Customs Act, 1962.

---