TMI Blog2016 (2) TMI 438X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rity in the findings at para 22 of order and also expressed in clear terms that there is no involvement of the management i.e. Appellant in the act committed by the employee. In several Tribunal's decisions consistently held that the CHA cannot be held liable for the acts of employee and set aside the revocation of Licence. - impugned orders revoking the CHA licence of the appellant is unsustainable and liable to be set aside. - Decided in favor of appellant. - Appeal No. C/40896/2014 - Final Order No. 41725/2015 - Dated:- 8-6-2015 - R. Periasami, Member (T) And P. K. Choudhary, Member (J) For the Appellant : Mr N Viswanathan, Adv For the Respondent : Ms Indira Sisupal, AC (AR) ORDER Per R Periasami The presen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... specific allegation was made for any contravention in the CHALR clause against the appellant. The authority has invoked Regulation 18 only on the ground that failure of supervision of their employee. He submits that the adjudicating authority also has clearly held that the act of employee is only for the personal gain where the appellant is not at all involved. The act of employee is beyond the appellant's control. He also submits that Customs have not initiated any proceedings against the exporter for any contravention of export of goods. In the SCN, it was stated that there is no violation in the Customs procedure and the export of goods was in order except for procedural lapse. He also submits that even though licence was suspended, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t the CHA failed to supervise conduct of his employee, is found to be true. However, it is also seen that the CHA is operating in five locations in which a large number of people are employed; that the CHA is operating without any adverse notice against them for the past twenty three years; that they have helped in contribution of over ₹ 100 Crores of foreign exchange per year to the Govt. of India, through their business operations; that based on a single incident a general perception cannot be made that the CHA has no proper supervision over their staff; that immediate suspension of the CHA has affected the livelihood of more than 90 people employed under them; that aberration of a staff at a particular customs station is not suffic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 13.4 that the limited allegation is only the act of forgery committed by employee for personal gain and at para 13.5 of SCN the department accepted that there is no violation committed under Customs Act except procedural deviation. The adjudicating authority in the impugned order revoked the licence for a limited period upto 31.7.2014. 7. From the above facts, it is evident that no proceedings initiated against the exporter or appellant under Customs Act as there is no violation but proceeded action under CHALR. This fact is confirmed by the adjudicating authority in the findings at para 22 of order and also expressed in clear terms that there is no involvement of the management i.e. Appellant in the act committed by the employee. In spi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e active facilitation of any infraction, or any other violation of the CHA Regulations, whether gross or otherwise.Neither have any such allegations been raised as to the past conduct of the appellant, from the time the license was granted in January, 1996. Equally, it is important to note that the appellant has - as of today - been unable to work the license for 8 years, and thus been penalized in this manner. This is not to say that the trust operating between the Customs Authorities and the CHA is to be taken lightly, or that violations of the Cl-IA Regulations should not be dealt with sternly. A penalty must be imposed. At the same time, the penalty must - as in any ordered system - be proportional to the violation. Just as the law abho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... olation is unjust. The ratio of the High Court order is equally applicable to the present case. As already discussed in the preceding paragraphs the adjudicating authority admitted the fact that there is no involvement of the appellant in the act of employee and no violations detected on the export goods by exporter or appellant. Therefore, by respectfully following the above Hon'ble High Court decision and the Tribunal decisions we have no hesitation in holding that the impugned orders revoking the CHA licence of the appellant is unsustainable and liable to be set aside. Accordingly, we set aside the impugned order and allow the appeal. Order by Dasti. ( Operative part of the order pronounced in open court on 8. 6. 2015 ) - - Ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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