2023 (3) TMI 903

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.... Commissioner of Customs to appoint another officer having the same rank to hear the case of the respondents/writ petitioners relating to suspension of their license. The learned Single Bench came to the said conclusion because the authority who had issued the post-decisional hearing notice on suspending the license of the respondents/writ petitioners custom broker is the same authority, who has drawn the offence report against the respondents/writ petitioners which appears to have been the basis for the action initiated under the provisions of CBLR, 2018. 2. We have heard learned counsel for the parties. There are two views, which are possible in the matter. The first view is that if both the officers are one and the same person, it may g....

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.... Customs (Airport & Admin) and the offence report is released for information and subsequent proceedings under the overall supervision of Commissioner of Customs (Airport & Admin). In these cases, the further process of adjudication is completed by Commissioner of Customs (Airport & Admin) himself. As such, if the order dated 01.12.2022 passed by the learned Single is acted upon, then by logic, all the Orders passed against the CB by the Commissioner of Customs (Airport & Admin) will be null and void and this will seriously jeopardize the working of the Department. VII. For that in both the GST and Customs Commissionerates (as in other Central Govt. Offices), a person when conducting investigation acts as an Investigation Officer. But, w....

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....e, the order dated 22.11.2022 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Airport & ACC) is legally sustainable." 3. Since the above grounds were not adjudicated in the writ proceeding, in this appeal we cannot examine those issues. As observed earlier, the learned writ Court has not laid down legal principles and in the light of the grounds raised by the Department, we are of the considered view to leave the legal issues open while affirming the penultimate direction issued by the learned Single Bench directing the some other authority to conduct the enquiry pursuant to the post-decisional notice issued to the respondent. 4. With the above observations, the appeal stands dismissed and consequently the connected application also stands dismis....