14 year delay invalidates Customs demand

Madras High Court has delivered a strong ruling on delayed Customs adjudication. A show cause notice issued in August 2009 culminated in an adjudication order only in February 2024. The Court held that the statutory requirement to adjudicate within one year could not be converted into a licence for indefinite delay. Even assuming the 2018 amendment applied, the outer period would have expired in March 2020. The 14-year delay was therefore unreasonable, arbitrary and violative of Article 14, rendering the adjudication unsustainable.