2026 (4) TMI 955

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....LR, 2018) and also challenging the Inquiry Report dated 21.11.2024, on the ground that it was issued beyond the period stipulated under Regulation 17(5) of Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018. 2. Before proceeding further, it may be relevant to note that the Offence Report was issued on 11.06.2023. The Show Cause Notice came to be issued on 29.06.2024. The Inquiry Report was issued on 21.11.2024. 3. The limited ground on which the impugned Show cause notice is challenged is that the same ought to have been issued within a period of 90 days from the date of submission of Offence Report (i.e) 90 days from 11.06.2023, in which event, it would expire on 10.09.2023. However, Show cause notice has been issued only on 29.06.2024, whi....

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....istently taken the view that the timeline prescribed in Regulation 17(1) of CBLR, 2108 are mandatory and failure to adhere to the timeline would prove fatal. The following judgments may be relevant: i) A.M.Ahamed & Co. vs. Commissioner of Customs (Imports), Chennai reported in 2014(309) E.L.T.433 (Mad.), wherein it has held as under: "18. The above regulation has only ingredients namely (I) failure to comply with the bond conditions, (ii) failure to comply with the regulations and (iii) a misconduct, for any of which, the licence can be revoked. Since the above regulation does not use the expression "offence report", we have to presume that a report indicating the availability of any one of the above 3 ingredients should b....

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....iod of 90 days should commence only from that date. If so calculated, the impugned proceedings have obviously been initiated beyond the period of 90 days." ii) Overseas Air Cargo Services vs Commissioner of Customs (General), New Delhi reported in 2016 (340) E.L.T. 119 (Del). The relevant portion of the judgment reads as under: "16. In Indair Carrier Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs (General) (supra) the Court emphasised the mandate nature of the CHALR as regards the time limits as under: "6. The time limits in the CHALR 2004 for issuance of the SCN to the CHA licence holder and completion of the inquiry within 90 days of issuance of such SCN are sacrosanct. The aforesaid time limits were engrafted into Regula....

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....ral) 2012 (283) E.L.T. 349 (Del.), the order dated 25th April, 2016 passed by this Court in Customs Appeal No.14/2016 (Commissioner of Customs (General) v. S. K. Logistics) and the order dated 29th April, 2016 in W.P.(C) No. 3071/2015 (M/s Sunil Dutt v. Commissioner of Customs (General) New Customs House). The same position has been reiterated by the Madras High Court in Sanco Trans Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs, Sea Port/Imports, Chennai (2015) 322 E.L.T. 170 (Mad.) and Commissioner v. Eltece Associates 2016 (334) E.L.T. A50 (Mad.). 17. Consequently, following the above decision, the Court holds that the impugned order dated 10th April, 2015 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (General), Delhi revoking the CHA license of the a....

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....on is extracted hereunder: "The learned Single Judge in a batch of writ petitions, as observed supra, has also followed the decision rendered by the Division Bench in the case of Santon Shipping Services vs. The Commissioner of Customs, referred to supra and has quashed the show cause notice and inquiry reports on the ground that the respondents did not adhere to the timelines fixed under the CBLR, 2018. 13. For the foregoing reasons, this Court is of the considered view that the impugned show cause notice as well as the impugned inquiry report have to be quashed on the ground of non adherence to the timelines fixed under regulation 17(5) and (7) of CBLR, 2018, which are mandatory in nature." 7. The learned counsel for ....