Separate Proceedings Under Customs Act Not Permissible Once CBLR Proceedings Are Initiated: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that separate proceedings under the Customs Act are not permissible once CBLR (Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018) proceedings are initiated. R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) opined that once separate proceedings have been initiated against the assessee under CBLR, 2018, for violation of the provisions of the said Regulations, no separate penalty is warranted on the assessee under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, as no offence under the Customs Act, 1962, has been established against the assessee. In this case, a penalty was imposed on the assessee/appellant on the allegation that the Customs Broker failed to discharge his duties as laid down under CBLR, 2018, in furtherance of the conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods. In the meantime, a show-cause notice was issued to the assessee under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962, as the goods were found to be mis-declared in terms of description, quantity, and quality. The assessee argued that such allegations of violation of the provisions of CBLR, 2018 by the Customs Broker have been dealt with in a separate proceeding under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations [CBLR], 2018 and hence, the Show Cause Notice issued under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962 is legally not tenable. The Tribunal opined that if there are any violations of the provisions of CBLR, 2018, by the assessee, then such violations by the Customs Broker are to be dealt with in a separate proceeding as provided under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018. The bench held that the Show Cause Notice issued under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962, proposing a penalty on the appellants under the said Act, is legally not tenable. The bench set aside the penalties imposed on the assessee under Section 112(a)(i) and Section 114AA of the Customs Act, 1962. In view of the above, the Tribunal allowed the appeal. Case Title: Shri Srimanta Rakshit v. Commissioner of Customs (Port) Case Number: Customs Appeal No. 75674 of 2025 Counsel for Appellant/ Assessee: Srikanta Kumar Mohapatra Counsel for Respondent/ Department: Faiz Ahmed Click Here To Read/Download Order

Separate Proceedings Under Customs Act Not Permissible Once CBLR Proceedings Are Initiated: CESTAT Kolkata

Mehak Dhiman

Tags