Aadrikaa Legal Services (ALS)- Law I Litigation I Arbitration
Date: 10.10.2026
Delhi HC: Call Book Pendency Cannot Legitimize Decade-Long Delay in Customs Proceedings
This Short Article has been prepared & written by Advocate Ravi Shekhar Jha-Delhi High Court, New Delhi. The views expressed are based on his interpretation of the law. He can be reached at his email id intelconsul@gmail.com .
The Delhi High Court has set aside a 2024 customs adjudication order against Gurjit Singh Bains and Sandeep Arora, holding that a show-cause notice cannot be left unresolved for almost ten years merely because it was placed in a departmental βcall book.β
Background: Alleged undervaluation of imported goods
The dispute arose from a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation into M/s Seiger International, New Delhi, concerning alleged customs-duty evasion between May 2011 and October 2012.
The investigation alleged that imported furniture and lighting fixtures had been cleared using duplicate invoices reflecting values lower than the original invoices. According to the allegations, Seiger Internationalβs proprietor, Kulpreet Kaur, Sandeep Arora of Glo Trans Logistics Pvt. Ltd., and Gurjit Singh Bains were involved in the alleged arrangement.
The DRI recorded statements from Kulpreet Kaur and Sandeep Arora in August 2014. The record also noted that Bains, who was residing in Italy, did not appear before the DRI despite summons. On the basis of the investigation material, Customs issued a show-cause notice on 30 December 2014.
Settlement by the main importer
Seiger International, through its proprietor Kulpreet Kaur, approached the Customs Settlement Commission under Section 127B of the Customs Act, 1962. In its order dated 13 April 2016, the Settlement Commission recorded that the importer had admitted undervaluation, paid the differential duty and interest, and cooperated in the settlement process.
The Commission settled:
- Differential customs duty: Rs 73,24,617
- Interest: Rs 33,48,526
- Penalty: Rs 1,50,000
It also granted immunity from prosecution, subject to compliance with the settlement terms. However, the settlement order expressly left the Revenue free to proceed against the other noticees named in the show-cause notice.
Why the 2024 customs order was challenged
Despite the 2014 show-cause notice, the proceedings against Bains and Arora were not concluded for nearly a decade. Customs ultimately passed an Order-in-Original on 30 March 2024.
The petitioners challenged both the notice and the 2024 order before the Delhi High Court. Their principal argument was that adjudication after such an extended delay was legally unsustainable. They also contended that the main importer had already settled the duty and interest liability before the Settlement Commission.
Customs responded that the matter had been transferred to the call book at different points, citing changes in the legal position and reassignment of officers. It argued that, since an adjudication order had already been passed, the petitioners should pursue the ordinary appellate remedy.
Courtβs ruling: Proceedings quashed
The High Court allowed both writ petitions and set aside the Order-in-Original dated 30 March 2024. It also quashed the proceedings against the petitioners arising from the 2014 show-cause notice.
The Court identified three decisive factors:
- Call-book placement did not justify the delay. The Court held that placing a matter in the call book is no longer an adequate reason to defer adjudication for years.
- There was no judicial stay. Since no court had stayed the proceedings, Customs should have continued and concluded adjudication.
- Customs knew of the Settlement Commissionβs order. The Department was aware that the principal importerβs liability had already been settled, yet the proceedings against the other noticees remained unresolved for an exceptionally long period.
Legal principles reaffirmed by the Delhi High Court
1. Statutory flexibility is not permission for indefinite delay
The Court relied on its earlier decision in M/s Vos Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. v. Principal Additional Director General & Anr. In that decision, the Court held that authorities must endeavour to conclude adjudication with due expedition.
Where a proceeding can impose financial liability or penal consequences, it cannot be kept pending for years or decades. A statutory provision allowing an authority to act within a prescribed time βwhere it is possible to do soβ does not create a licence for administrative lethargy.
The authority must demonstrate a genuine impediment: it must show that proceeding with reasonable speed was impracticable or prevented by circumstances beyond its control.
2. Repeated call-book transfers are not a valid explanation
The Court also followed Vijay Enterprises & Anr. v. Principal Commissioner of Customs & Anr., where prolonged non-adjudication caused by repeated placement and removal from the call book was held unjustifiable.
In the present case, Customs referred to call-book placement in 2018, subsequent communication to noticees in 2021, and reassignment of officers in 2022. The High Court found these administrative circumstances insufficient to validate almost ten years of delay.
3. Financial and penal exposure demands timely adjudication
The judgment reinforces a due-process safeguard in customs, tax, and regulatory adjudication: people facing duty demands, penalties, or other adverse consequences should not remain subject to unresolved proceedings indefinitely.
Delay can impair the ability to defend a case, preserve evidence, and obtain finality. The longer a proceeding remains dormant without a compelling reason, the stronger the basis for judicial scrutiny.
4. Availability of an appeal does not prevent writ review in exceptional delay cases
Although Customs argued that the petitioners should use the appellate remedy against the 2024 order, the High Court directly exercised writ jurisdiction. The extraordinary and unexplained delay in adjudicating the 2014 notice made the matter suitable for intervention.
Significance of the decision
This ruling is important for parties facing old customs show-cause notices or similarly delayed proceedings under fiscal statutes. It confirms that departmental practices, internal reassignment, or generic references to changes in the law cannot by themselves justify a prolonged failure to adjudicate.
The decision does not state that every delayed show-cause notice must automatically be quashed. Instead, it places the burden on the authority to establish a concrete and credible reason why timely adjudication was not possible. Where no stay exists and no genuine external barrier is shown, a stale proceeding carrying financial or penal consequences may not survive judicial review.
Key takeaway
The Delhi High Court ruled for Gurjit Singh Bains and Sandeep Arora because Customs allowed a 2014 show-cause notice to remain unresolved for nearly ten years without an adequate legal justification; call-book placement and internal administrative reasons were not enough to sustain the delayed 2024 adjudication order.
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Source: Delhi High Court
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