Delhi High Court Declines To Quash Customs SCN, Says Limitation Plea To Be Examined By Adjudicating Authority

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to exercise its writ jurisdiction to quash a show cause notice issued under the Customs Act, 1962, holding that the petitioner's plea regarding limitation must be decided by the adjudicating authority.

A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed,

“Once the petitioner has submitted his explanation on the issue of limitation based on the judgments referred above, it can be expected of the respondents to deal with the contentions of the petitioner.”

The Court was dealing with a petition filed by Sandeep Sharma, who sought quashing of a show cause notice dated April 25, 2025, primarily on the ground that it was time-barred under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act.

The petitioner contended that although documents had been seized during investigation, no notice extending the statutory period of six months had been issued. Relying on Supreme Court precedents, it was argued that the show cause notice issued beyond the prescribed period, without extension, was liable to be set aside.

Opposing the plea, the respondents submitted that the petitioner had failed to cooperate with the investigation and had not appeared in response to summons. It was further pointed out that the proceedings involved multiple noticees, and interference at this stage would affect the ongoing adjudication.

Taking note of the submissions, the Court observed that the petitioner had already filed a reply to the show cause notice raising the issue of limitation and thus, the contention could be examined by the adjudicating authority.

The bench also noted that the proceedings were not confined to the petitioner alone but involved several other accused persons. In such circumstances, the Court found it inappropriate to invoke its extraordinary jurisdiction at this stage.

Accordingly, plea was disposed of.

For Petitioner: Advocates Naveen Malhotra, Ritvik Malhotra

For Respondents: Gibran Naushad, SSC with Advocate Suraj Shekhar Singh