The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has announced that penal provisions against customs brokers are inappropriate when the matter is under appellate review. The Board has issued an advisory regarding the inclusion of customs brokers as co-noticees in cases involving interpretative disputes.
The CBIC has observed practices in field formations and issued Instruction No. 24/2023 on July 18, 2023, mandating that a Personal Hearing must be provided before suspending a Customs Broker License under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018.
Similarly, the CBIC has issued Instruction No. 20/2024 on September 3, 2024, directing that Customs Brokers should not be routinely implicated as co-noticees in matters related to statute interpretation. This should only occur if the investigation authority establishes evidence of the Customs Brokers' abetment in the investigation.
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