Procedural Fairness breached where revocation order relied on undisclosed material, leading to invalidation in respondent's favour.

Whether a substantial question of law arose where an Order-in-Original revoking a customs broker licence relied on material beyond the show cause notice; the court applied the principle that a notice must communicate specific allegations sufficient to enable a response, and held that reliance on undisclosed material and failure to explain how that material established prima facie contraventions or attributable misconduct breached procedural fairness and natural justice, resulting in the decision being resolved in favour of the respondent.

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Issues: (i) Whether a substantial question of law arises for entertaining the appeal against the CESTAT order quashing and setting aside the Order-in-Original which revoked the customs broker licence, where the Order-in-Original travelled beyond the allegations contained in the show cause notice.

Analysis: Regulation 10(a), 10(d), 10(e) and 10(n) of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 and related provisions of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2013 were invoked in the show cause notice reproduced in para 4. The show cause notice relied on material drawn from an earlier show cause notice issued under the Customs Act, 1962 (including paras 37-37.4, 38, 38.1, 49 and 50) which pertained to proceedings under Sections 112(a), 112(b), 114AA and 117 of the Customs Act, 1962. The allegations in the show cause notice did not specify how the relied-upon material established prima facie contraventions of the cited licensing regulations or the mode and manner in which the alleged violations were attributable to the licence-holder. The Order-in-Original contained findings based on material and reasoning that extended beyond the scope of the allegations as framed in the show cause notice. Established legal principles require that a notice communicate specific allegations sufficient to enable the noticee to answer; where a show cause notice is vague or an order relies on material not disclosed in the notice, there is a breach of procedural fairness and the principles of natural justice.

Conclusion: In favour of Respondent.

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