Legal principle

Overruled in 2024. The 2021 ruling held that DRI officers could not issue section 28 notices; the 2024 review judgment reversed this.

Court decision

The Court held that the DRI officer was not "the proper officer" under section 28, because the power to reopen an assessment belonged to the officer who made it or his successor, and the DRI officer had not been entrusted with section 28 functions under section 6. The show cause notices were set aside.

Facts

Canon India imported cameras and cleared them with a duty exemption after assessment by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Appraisal Group, Delhi Air Cargo. The Additional Director General of the DRI later issued a show cause notice under section 28(4), alleging the exemption was obtained by wilful misstatement and suppression of facts.

Key provisions

• Section 2 — Definitions
• Section 17 — Assessment of duty
• Section 28 — Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short- paid or erroneously refunded