Customs agent liability under Section 148 upheld, with later demand notice challenge held not maintainable.

A communication issued after an earlier order-in-original was treated as a demand notice, not as a fresh adjudicating order, so a later challenge to it could not revive a dispute that had already attained finality. The local agent of the vessels was found bound by the obligations of the person in charge under Section 148 of the Customs Act, 1962, and remained liable for the penalties imposed on the masters of the trawlers. On that basis, the appeal was held not maintainable and was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the appeal against the communication dated 1-6-1990 was maintainable, and whether the appellant, as local agent of the vessels, was liable under Section 148 of the Customs Act, 1962 for the penalties imposed on the masters of the trawlers.

Analysis: The communication dated 1-6-1990 was treated as a demand notice and not as an independent adjudicating order. The operative liability of the appellant had already been indicated in the earlier order-in-original, and the appellant, being the accepted local agent of the conveyance, was bound by the obligations of the person in charge under Section 148 of the Customs Act, 1962. Since the earlier adjudication had not been appealed within time, the later challenge to the demand notice could not revive the dispute. On that basis, the appeal was held to be not maintainable.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable and was rejected; the department's view that the appellant remained liable as agent was upheld.

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