TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (6) TMI 381
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....ide Detention Receipt dated 11th February, 2024. 3. The Petitioner is an Indian citizen. It is stated that the Petitioner was returning to India from Mecca, Saudi Arabia after performing religious pilgrimage ("Umrah") on 11th February, 2024. The Customs Department intercepted her upon her arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The Petitioner was wearing two gold bangles weighing 128 grams, respectively, (hereinafter "the detained jewellery") which were detained by the Customs Department. 4. It is the case of the Petitioner that the detained jewellery has not been released till date. It is also stated that no show cause notice (hereinafter "SCN") has been issued in this matter and no personal hearing was also grante....
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....o yellow metal bangles, weight 128 grams" were recovered from her. The Pax in her statement dated 11.02.2024 stated that the said goods did not belong to her. She admitted her acts of omission and commission; that she is well aware of the fact that there is Customs duty on import of above goods; that she intentionally did not declare the recovered goods; that she agreed with the description, quantity and value assessed by the Department; that she had tendered her true & correct statement and understood the same in vernacular; that on being asked, she admitted the act of omission and commission on her part. She further stated that she had tendered her statement without any duress, pressure or threat. Further, she requested that she did not r....
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....te), which is the correct date of detention of goods and facts admitted by the Pax in her statement, as the relevant date for appraisal of detained goods. S.No. Description and number of goods Average purity Gross Weight in grams Net Weight in grams Assessable value (in Rs.) 1 Two gold bangles 996 128 128 744,582 Total 128 128 744,582 7. Value has been determined in terms of the following notifications: Gold rate notification No. 12/2024 15.02.2024 639 USD per 10 gm Exchange rate notification No. 13/2024 15.02.2024 83.90 Rupees per USD 8. From a perusal of the above paragraphs, it appears that the authorised representative of the Petitioner had appeared for the Petitioner before the Customs Author....
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.... Customs, 2025:DHC:751-DB and Mr Makhinder Chopra vs Commissioner of Customs New Delhi, 2025:DHC:1162-DB. The operative portion of the judgement in Amit Kumar (supra) is as under: "16. A perusal of Section 124 of the Act along with the alleged waiver which is relied upon would show that the oral SCN cannot be deemed to have been served in this manner as is being alleged by the Department. If an oral SCN waiver has to be agreed to by the person concerned, the same ought to be in the form of a proper declaration, consciously signed by the person concerned. Even then, an opportunity of hearing ought to be afforded, inasmuch as, the person concerned cannot be condemned unheard in these matters. Printed waivers of this nature would fundamental....
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.... relied upon the undertaking in a standard form dated 17th June, 2024 signed by the Petitioner, wherein the Petitioner has waived of issuance of the show cause notice and personal hearing. It is admitted position that no show cause notice has been issued to the Petitioner on the basis of the said undertaking. 24. The issuance of a show cause notice before confiscation of goods by the Customs officials is covered under Section 124 of the Act, which reads as under: "124. Issue of show cause notice before confiscation of goods, etc.- No order confiscating any goods or imposing any penalty on any person shall be made under this Chapter unless the owner of the goods or such person- (a) is given a notice in writing with the prior approval ....
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.... a standard form as relied upon by the Customs Department waiving the issuance of show cause notice and personal hearing would not satisfy the requirements of Section 124 of the Act. 27. This Court recently in Amit Kumar v. The Commissioner of Customs, 2025:DHC:751 DB was considering similar facts wherein the Petitioner had also signed an undertaking waiving show cause notice and personal hearing. The Court had analysed and discussed the validity of such undertaking vis-à-vis Section 124 of the Act. [...] 28 In view of the above observations, it is clear that the undertaking signed by the Petitioner in the present case cannot be sustained in law. Accordingly, the Customs Department has failed to satisfy the requirements of Sectio....