TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1996 (7) TMI 154
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....ort or export of goods or baggage in any Custom House. Rule 6 prescribed the conditions which had to be fulfilled by the applicant before the grant of licence to act as Custom House Agent, saying : Certain conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant before"6. the grant of licence. - An applicant for a licence shall - (a) furnish to the Customs Collector satisfactory evidence as to his respectability, reliability and financial status; (b) produce satisfactory evidence to the Customs Collector that he would be in a position to muster sufficient clientele and business in the event of his being granted the licence; (c) furnish an income tax clearance certificate." 3.Rule 9 laid down the details and procedure for examination of the applicant with a view to ascertain his knowledge of customs law and procedure and his fitness to render proper service, to importers and exporters. Such examination could be oral or written or both. In view of Rule 10, the Customs Collector was empowered to reject an application for the grant of a licence to act as Custom House Agent, if the applicant failed to pass the examination prescribed under those rules or if the applicant was not considered suita....
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....e the subject-matter of controversy in the present appeal provided the conditions which have to be fulfilled by the applicant and conceive grant of temporary licences as well : "6.Conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant. - The applicant or the person referred to in clause (b) of sub-regulations (2) and (3) of Regulation 5 as the case may be, shall prove to the satisfaction of the Collector that : (a) he has the experience of work relating to clearance of goods through the customs for a period of not less than one year; and (b) the applicant has financial viability supported by a certificate is issued by a Scheduled Bank or such other proof acceptable to the Collector evidencing possession of assets of the value of not less than Rs. 1 lakh in the case of applicants for the grant of licence in respect of any one of the Customs Stations at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Cochin, Kandla, Goa, Mangalore, Tuticorin or Visak-hapatnam and not less than Rs. 50,000 in the case of each of the other Customs Stations, situated at places other than those specified above : Provided that in cases where a Collector's jurisdiction extends to more than one Customs Station the Collector may issue on....
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....has an experience of work relating to clearance of goods through the customs for a period of not less than one year. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that clause (a) of Regulation 6 has been substituted by Notification No. 74/91 (N.T)-Cus., dated 15-11-1991 and now it reads as follows : "6. Conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant. - The applicant or the person referred to in clause (b) of sub-regulations (2) and (3) of Regulation 5 as the case may be, shall prove to the satisfaction of the Collector that : (a) is an employee of a licensee and that he possesses a permanent pass in Form G prescribed under Regulation 20 and has the experience of work relating to clearance of goods through the customs, for a period of not less than one year, in the capacity of such a pass-holder; and ...." This was not required under the 1960 Rules and the 1965 Regulations. Regulation 8 provides that an applicant shall be permitted to operate as Custom House Agent at the Customs Station for which the application is made initially for the period of one year against temporary licence granted by the Collector in Form B. In view of the proviso to the said Regulation 8, such applicant is entitled to....
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....d to act as Custom House Agent on the basis of temporary licence without his suitability and qualifications being tested which was a must under the earlier rules and regulations. It was pointed out that the holders of such temporary licences without the evaluation of their merit can transact any business relating to entry or departure of the conveyance or import or export of goods at the Customs Station, on a par with regular licensees who have got the licence after passing the examinations conducted for their selection. In this connection reference was made to the Report of the Study Team on the Customs Department, submitted in the year 1967. In the said report in respect of the clearing agency system it was suggested that the clearing agency rules should be tightened to provide effective control over the clearing agents. For that object strict tests for grant of licence or approval to conduct Custom House business should be held. It also recommended that clearing agents' associations should be encouraged to arrange their affairs like a disciplined guild with a code of conduct, fair scales of charges, arrangements for training their staff and regulations regarding employing unqual....
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....carry on business as an agent relating to the entry or departure of a conveyance or the import or export of goods at any Customs Station unless such person holds a licence granted in this behalf in accordance with the regulations. None of the clauses of sub-section (2) of Section 146 prescribe any restriction on grant of temporary licence. The Committee for Subordinate Legislation aforesaid had also recommended under the heading "eligibility conditions" that the applicant must be at least a graduate and the desirable qualification should be at least 3 years' experience which could be reduced to 6 months in deserving cases. Then it recommended that such applicant should pass a written examination which shall be held annually. It also recommended that temporary licence should be issued initially for a period of two years and the performance of the applicant be watched. The Committee did not say that such temporary licence should be issued only after the applicant had passed the written examination, rather it laid emphasis that a temporary licence should be converted into a permanent one "on the applicants showing satisfactory turnover and a minimum level of efficiency". In this backg....