Case Details: Pawan Kumar vs. Commissioner of Customs (2026) 38 Centax 22 (Del.)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
- Prathibha M. Singh & Shail Jain, JJ
- Shri S. Vijay Kanth, Advocate, for the Petitioner.
- Ms. Arya Suresh, Advocate for Shri Aditya Singla, SSC, for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
The petitioner was a passenger from whose possession a gold chain weighing 58 grams was seized upon arrival in India from abroad, and the seizure was stated to relate to jewellery treated as bona fide baggage or personal effects. It was submitted that although waiver of show cause notice was recorded orally through a standard pre-printed form, no show cause notice was issued for more than one year after the seizure, and only a notice for personal hearing was issued, pursuant to which the petitioner did not appear. Reliance was placed on the decision of the Delhi High Court in Qamar Jahan [(2025) 34 Centax 335 (Del.)], which was subsequently followed in several decisions, to contend that waiver of show cause notice and personal hearing through a standard pre-printed form was not permissible, and that continued detention of the seized gold could not be sustained in absence of issuance of a show cause notice under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The matter was accordingly placed before the High Court.
High Court Held
The High Court held that waiver of show cause notice and personal hearing obtained through a standard pre-printed form was not permissible, as already settled in Qamar Jahan and the decisions following it. The Court held that, in the present case, no show cause notice had been issued for more than one year from the date of seizure, and the personal hearing was granted only thereafter. On these facts, the Court held that the continued detention of the gold chain could not be sustained under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The Court accordingly directed that the seized gold chain be released to the petitioner on payment of applicable Customs duty and warehousing charges as applicable on the date of detention.
List of Cases Cited
- Amit Kumar v. Commissioner — 2025 (392) E.L.T. 429 (Del.) = (2025) 28 Centax 134 (Del.) — Followed [Para 7]
- Qamar Jahan v. Union of India — (2025) 34 Centax 335 (Del.) — Followed [Paras 4, 6, 7, 9]
