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Issues: (i) Whether a person who has qualified in the examination under Regulation 9 of the Custom House Agents' Licensing Regulations, 1984 and is engaged by a licensed CHA can be denied approval as a Power of Attorney holder under Regulation 18 on the ground of antecedents. (ii) Whether the Tribunal could accept the objection to representation based on the advocate's earlier official role in another matter.
Issue (i): Whether a person who has qualified in the examination under Regulation 9 of the Custom House Agents' Licensing Regulations, 1984 and is engaged by a licensed CHA can be denied approval as a Power of Attorney holder under Regulation 18 on the ground of antecedents.
Analysis: Regulation 18 permits a qualified person to engage himself in work relating to clearance of goods on behalf of a firm or company licensed under Regulation 10, subject to the limitation that he does not act for more than one such firm or company at a time. The record showed compliance with the qualification requirement and with the intimation requirement under Regulation 18(2). Regulation 20, by contrast, governs employees who assist a CHA and expressly authorises consideration of antecedents and character; it does not control appointments under Regulation 18. The two provisions operate independently, and the antecedent-verification clause in Regulation 20 cannot be read into Regulation 18.
Conclusion: The denial of approval on the ground of antecedents was unsustainable and was set aside, in favour of the assessee.
Issue (ii): Whether the Tribunal could accept the objection to representation based on the advocate's earlier official role in another matter.
Analysis: The objection was based on the advocate having acted as a Customs in an earlier proceeding. The material showed that he had since retired from Government service and enrolled as an advocate. His earlier official act in another matter did not create a present bar to appearance before the Tribunal.
Conclusion: The objection to representation was rejected, in favour of the assessee.
Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the appeal succeeded with consequential relief, because approval under Regulation 18 could not be refused by importing antecedent-based considerations from Regulation 20.
Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory provision governing engagement of a qualified CHA agent does not provide for antecedent verification, an authority cannot import that requirement from a different provision dealing with a separate class of employees, and must confine itself to the conditions expressly prescribed by the applicable regulation.
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