Customs Act, 1962 › Chapter XIV — Confiscation of goods and conveyances and imposition of penalties

Section 124. Issue of show cause notice before confiscation of goods etc

Customs Act, 1962

Bare Act

Issue of show cause notice before confiscation of goods, etc. — No order confiscating any goods or imposing any penalty on any person shall be made under this Chapter unless the owner of the goods or such person -

(a) is given a notice in writing with the prior approval of the officer of Customs not below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Customs, informing him of the grounds on which it is proposed to confiscate the goods or to impose a penalty;

(b) is given an opportunity of making a representation in writing within such reasonable time as may be specified in the notice against the grounds of confiscation or imposition of penalty mentioned therein; and

Provided that the notice referred to in clause (a) and the representation referred to in clause (b) may, at the request of the person concerned be oral.

Provided further that notwithstanding issue of notice under this section, the proper officer may issue a supplementary notice under such circumstances and in such manner as may be prescribed.

Judgments on Section 124

Campus Component Pvt Ltd vs Commissioner Of Customs (Acc Exports) &… — Delhi High Court, 14 Sep 2026. The test is whether the noticee had a real chance to know and answer the case, not whether a document called a show cause notice was served.
Fahim Ahmad vs Commissioner Of Customs — Delhi High Court, 2 Sep 2026. The High Court will not exercise extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to adjudicate on disputed questions of fact and law concerning the validity and effect of a purported oral Show Cause…
Iqrar Ali vs Commissioner Of Customs — Delhi High Court, 2 Sep 2026. The statutory consequence of automatic release under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 is attracted only when no Show Cause Notice under Section 124 is issued within the prescribed period, including the validly…
Mohammad Sadiq vs Commissioner Of Customs — Delhi High Court, 2 Sep 2026. A mere printed waiver or unilateral recital in a Section 108 statement cannot by itself satisfy the mandatory requirements of Sections 110(2) and 124 of the Customs Act; the validity of any oral notice and the…
S.Thiyagarajan vs Assistant Commissioner Of Customs… — Madras High Court, 16 Jun 2026. Where redemption of seized goods is allowed under Section 125 and the department has disposed of the goods without notice in breach of Section 110(1A) and the 14.02.2006 circular, it must pay the owner the value of the…
Mukesh Kumar vs Commissioner Of Customs (Ii), Chennai — CESTAT, 17 Feb 2026. Penalties under sections 112(b) and 114AA of the Customs Act can be imposed only where mens rea or active involvement is established, and retracted statements recorded u/s 108 cannot sustain duty demands unless tested…
Cochin-Cce vs Maliakkal Industral Enterprises — CESTAT, 5 Dec 2025. Goods provisionally cleared on a bond under Section 18 of the Customs Act pursuant to High Court directions, with the prescribed end-use condition complied with, cannot attract confiscation under Section 111(d), penalty…
Commissioner Of Customs Import 1 Zone 1 vs M/S Essar Bulk Terminal Salaya Limited — CESTAT, 3 Apr 2025. Alleged overvaluation without duty consequence cannot sustain confiscation under section 111(m) or penalties under sections 112/114AA, and the price of goods for export to a country other than India is expressly barred…
Vicky Ramchand Asrani vs Mumbai-Air Port — CESTAT, 19 Dec 2024. Illicit import of gold must be deterred, but not by alienation of possession from its owner — where goods are merely restricted and not truly prohibited, absolute confiscation under section 125 fails and the owner is…
M/S Navayuga Engineering Co.Ltd vs Union Of India — Supreme Court of India, 23 Jul 2024. When the owner of confiscated goods redeems them on payment of fine under Section 125(1), the liability to duty arising under Section 125(2) must be assessed and determined under Section 28, and interest on delayed…
Commr.Of Customs (Import) Mumbai vs M/S Ganpati Overseas Thr. Its… — Supreme Court of India, 6 Oct 2023. Undervaluation must be proved by the department through evidence or information of contemporaneous imports of like goods at higher prices, and mere suspicion of the invoice or reliance on foreign export…
M/S.N.C.Alexender vs The Commissioner Of Customs — Madras High Court, 9 Jun 2022. Show cause notices and adjudication orders issued by DRI officers are valid because they are appointed as 'Officers of Customs' under Section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, and Section 97 of the Finance Act, 2022…
Messrs Aztec Fluids And Machinery Pvt Ltd vs Union Of India — Gujarat High Court, 1 Apr 2022. A show cause notice for recovery of duty under Section 28 of the Customs Act can be issued only by the 'proper officer', and notices issued by the DRI are without authority and liable to be quashed per M/s Canon India,…
Mihir Maheshkumar Chevli vs Union Of India — Gujarat High Court, 18 Feb 2022. Under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, seized goods must be returned to the person from whom they were seized if no confiscation notice under clause (a) of Section 124 is issued within six months of seizure (or…
Union Of India vs M/S Raj Grow Impex Llp — Supreme Court of India, 17 Jun 2021. Goods imported in contravention of import restrictions notified under the FTDR Act, 1992 are liable to absolute confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962, and equity cannot aid importers who imported under the cover of…
J.M.Baxi And Co vs Government Of India — Madras High Court, 4 Dec 2019. A steamer or its agent cannot be held liable under Section 116 of the Customs Act, 1962 merely because remission of customs duty was allowed to the importer under Section 23, and invocation of Section 116 long after 9…
M/S. Atul Commodities Pvt. Ltd. & Ors vs Commr. Of Customs, Cochin-9 — Supreme Court of India, 24 Feb 2009. The categorization or re-categorization of imported goods as free or restricted can be effected only by a specific amendment to the Foreign Trade Policy under Section 5 of the FTDR Act, 1992, by the Central Government,…
Union Of India (Uoi) Through The… vs Hoganas India Ltd. And Ors. [Alongwith… — Bombay High Court, 21 Jul 2005. The Settlement Commission under Chapter XIV-A has a very wide jurisdiction to entertain all kinds of settlement applications under Section 127B — including cases involving fraud or mis-declaration — provided the…
M/S.Alankar Shipping And Trading… vs The Commissioner Of Customs — Madras High Court, 15 Sep 2026. Customs cannot confiscate goods or impose penalty without a show cause notice and hearing; an order passed without one may be treated as a mere show cause notice and decided afresh.
Nahid Zakiya Through Spa Mohammad Uzair vs Commissioner Of Customs — Delhi High Court, 3 Sep 2026. A writ court will not direct unconditional return of detained goods for non-issue of a Section 124 notice within the Section 110(2) period where the petitioner approaches with substantial unexplained delay, suppresses…

All 52 judgments