A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, was hearing a review petition filed by the Commissioner of Customs seeking a review of the decision in the Canon India case, where it was held that the officers of the DRI who were not otherwise officers of customs, could not have been assigned as the "proper officers" under the Customs Act.

The 2021 Canon India judgment added that only such officers who are vested with the power of assessment can be empowered to issue show cause notices.

The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, held that the Canon India judgment was rendered without looking into the circular issued by the Central Board of Excise & Customs and the 2011 notification which had assigned the functions of the proper officer to the officers of DRI.

"The officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Commissionerates of Customs (Preventive), Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence and Commissionerates of Central Excise and other similarly situated officers are proper officers for the purposes of Section 28 and are competent to issue show cause notice thereunder," it said.

The apex court said that where the show cause notices issued have been challenged before the high courts directly by way of a writ petition, the respective high court will dispose of such writ petitions in accordance with its latest observations and restore such notices for adjudication by the proper officer.

"Where the writ petitions have been disposed of by the respective High Court and appeals have been preferred against such orders which are pending before this Court, they shall be disposed of in accordance with this decision and the show cause notices impugned therein shall be restored for adjudication by the proper officer under Section 28," it added.

In its judgment, the SC upheld the constitutional validity of Section 97 of the Finance Act, 2022.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS