Rican Lanka (Private) Limited Vs. The Director General of Customs, Sri Lanka Customs – CA WRIT APPLICATION 440/2008-2008

The case between Rican Lanka (Private) Limited and the Director General of Customs, the Director (Preventive Unit) of Sri Lanka Customs, and an Assistant Director of Customs addressed the issue of whether the Director General of Customs had the authority to set aside an Inquiring Officer’s exoneration and order a fresh inquiry into alleged mis-description and mis-classification of goods, purportedly to evade payment of a cess under the Sri Lanka Export Development Act. It was held that, absent new evidence or procedural impropriety in the prior inquiry, the Director General’s action in reopening the matter was ultra vires. This decision reaffirmed the principle that administrative inquiries and decisions must strictly comply with statutory procedures and may not be reopened without legal b