Order Date: 21 February 2023

Parties: M/s Shree Rishabhdev Marble and Minerals Private Limited vs. Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Jodhpur.

Facts – 

• The Appellant, M/s Shree Rishabhdev Marble and Minerals Private Limited received a letter from the department on 6.1.2020, by which the department sought to withdraw the permission granted to them for allowing job work in DTA.
• The letter clearly mentions that “it has come to the notice that the appellant is violating the norms of the 100% EOU scheme by diverting the material to DTA”. But the letter does not indicate the basis for forming an opinion or evidence of violations that have taken place.
• The letter was actually treated as show cause notice by the Department for the purposes of present proceedings. After issuing the letter, they also conducted searches later on in the premises of the job worker as well as the appellant and found certain discrepancies in the stock position.

Issue –

• Whether the letter which was treated as show cause notice by the department acceptable?

Orders –

• The Tribunal observed that the department has not been able to produce the evidence or reason to support the allegation. Hence the letter dated 6.1.2020 cannot be treated as a proper show-cause notice.
• The Tribunal stated that the imputations in the letter were later on found to be true after the search. But at the time the show-cause notice was issued, the allegation was merely based on suspicion.
• The Tribunal has found that the show cause notice is improper and unsustainable and the proceedings based thereupon are liable to be set aside. The Department in the future is free to consider the rejection of the lapsed permission if any conclusive evidence is available to them from the proceedings relating to seizure.
• The appeal is allowed in the above terms.