TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (3) TMI 522
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....2013 of Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore in proceedings under Customs Broker Licencing Regulations, 2004 consequent upon certain irregularities in 'baggage declaration' filed within the jurisdiction of Commissioner of Customs, Chennai that is claimed to have occurred before they commenced operations there. Another grievance of theirs is that the action has been initiated while M/s Mysore Business Associates, which was in existence earlier, had ceased its operations at Chennai. 2. Narrating the background of events, Learned Counsel for the appellant informs that M/s Mysore Business Associates, issued with Licence No. R-2/91 valid up to 24th August, 2020, had their licence extended to Chennai Customs under regulation 9(2) of the Customs ....
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....9th December 2012 under regulation 21 of Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, which followed the investigation report dated 4th June 2012, the licence of M/s Mysoor 4M was suspended vide order dated 28th December 2012 under regulation 20(2) of Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 with order of continuation dated 9th January 2013. Thereafter, a show-cause notice, under regulation 22 of Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, dated 28th January 2013 led to enquiry proceedings by Assistant Commissioner, Air Cargo Complex, Bangalore for establishing the contravention by the appellant on six charges and, of which, four were held to have been proved. In the impugned order, the two charges that were dropped by th....
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.... the intent, though the Regulations are silent on this aspect, is to enable immediate action for suspension where warranted and the instructions are limited to the time that may elapse between the occurrence of the event and suspension of the licence. We take note that the stages surrounding the suspension, and the suspension itself, is not in dispute here. Indeed, the suspension does not appear to have been challenged and any lacunae that may have favoured the appellant cannot now be considered for grant of relief in a matter that has transcended the suspension stage and is, undisputedly, in accord with the Regulations itself. 7. With the submission pertaining to time-limits not being tenable, we turn to the issue of whether the impugne....
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....es whose name had been misused by the perpetrators of the forgery for removal of the unaccompanied baggage from Chennai Custom House. We find no reason to disagree with Learned Authorized Representative that the licensing authority would have been influenced by an adverse finding against a proprietary concern whose proprietor subsequently sought issue of fresh licence as a partnership firm. Nevertheless, the fundamental principles of natural justice prescribes that the entity proposed to be imposed with detriment should be placed on notice of jurisdiction, and the alleged deviation from prescribed Rules of Conduct along with sufficient evidence of such misdemeanor. It is seen from the show-cause notice leading to the present proceedings tha....
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....the practice of handing over blank/incomplete declaration forms which could well have been misused and, to the extent that their former employee, Shri Harikrishnan, did admittedly, forge approval of the customs and bank authorities, is a questionable facilitation. This may well be true. However, it is seen from the records that the appellant had been assailing the allegation of blank documents having been given, as well as of their complicity in the forgeries, though, doubtlessly, with no evidence to substantiate these. Nevertheless, in the context of such firm rebuttal of the allegations, the original authority should have taken steps to ascertain the possible role of the appellant by appropriate forensic reference. Appellant too has also ....