Right to fair hearing: Commissioner must disclose reasons and allow response before adverse licence action.

Where an inquiry officer's report exonerates a licence-holder but the Commissioner proposes an adverse conclusion, principles of natural justice require disclosure of the reasons or adverse material underpinning that disagreement and an opportunity for the licence-holder to reply; the Commissioner may disagree with an inquiry report but must communicate the basis for disagreement and permit rebuttal before imposing adverse administrative action. Applying that rule, an order revoking a customs broker licence without such disclosure and opportunity was set aside and relief granted to the appellant.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner, upon disagreeing with an Inquiry Officer's report favourable to the licensee, is required to communicate the reasons or adverse material for such disagreement and provide the licensee an opportunity to reply before passing an adverse order.

Analysis: The issue was examined in light of the procedural scheme governing inquiries under the Customs Broker License Regulation, 2018 and settled principles of natural justice. Where an inquiry report exonerates a licensee but the Commissioner proposes to reach an adverse conclusion by disagreeing with that report, fairness requires that the Commissioner disclose the adverse material or reasons on which the disagreement is based so the licensee can rebut, qualify or explain the same. The tribunal applied the principle established in the cited precedent holding that the Commissioner is not bound to accept an inquiry report but must communicate reasons for disagreement and afford the affected party an opportunity to respond before imposing adverse consequences.

Conclusion: The impugned order, which revoked the customs broker licence without communicating reasons for disagreement with the Inquiry Officer's favourable report and without giving an opportunity to reply, is set aside. Relief is granted in favour of the appellant.

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