No Automatic Release Of Seized Goods Where Customs Claims Oral Show Cause Notice: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that unconditional release of seized goods under Section 110(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, cannot be ordered merely because no written show cause notice was issued when the Customs Department specifically asserts that an oral show cause notice under Section 124(a) was issued.

The Division Bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Shail Jain was dealing with a petition seeking release of a 100-gram gold bar seized from the petitioner at Delhi airport.

Petitioner argued that the gold was liable to be returned since no written show cause notice had been issued within the statutory period under Section 110(2).

Customs, however, contended that an oral show cause notice had been issued on the date of seizure under the first proviso to Section 124.

The Court noted that Section 110(2) mandates return of seized goods where the requisite notice under Section 124(a) is not issued within the prescribed period. Referring to the Supreme Court's decision in Union of India & Anr. v. Jatin Ahuja (2025), the Court reiterated that this time-limit is mandatory.

However, it said the present case was different because Customs specifically claimed that an oral notice had been issued.

“Here, the Respondent does not rest its defence merely on the proposition that the Petitioner waived the requirement of a show-cause notice. The Respondent has specifically placed on record a chart in which the date of oral show-cause notice is recorded as 19.12.2023. Thus, the Respondent‟s case is that the statutory requirement was complied with by an oral notice, and not merely that the requirement of notice stood waived,” it said.

The Court observed that the first proviso to Section 124 expressly permits the notice and representation to be oral at the request of the person concerned.

“The first proviso to Section 124 expressly contemplates that the notice referred to in clause (a), as well as the representation referred to in clause (b), may, at the request of the person concerned, be oral. Therefore, the statutory scheme does not confine a Section 124(a) notice, in every case, to a written document.”

The Court therefore held that Petitioner could not claim automatic release merely on the basis of the absence of a written show cause notice, and dismissed the petition.

For Petitioner: Advpcates Ashutosh, Fatima, Rohit Swarup, Dalip Singh, Avinash Kumar Singh, Pravej Hasan, Abhijeet Sagar, S.Vijaykanth.

For Respondent: Advocates Akash Verma, SSC- CBIC with Ms. Aanchal Uppal