Section Text
No order confiscating any goods or imposing any penalty on any person shall be made under this Chapter unless the owner of the goods or such person--
(a) is given a notice in 1[writing with the prior approval of the officer of customs not below the rank of a Deputy Commissioner of Customs, informing] him of the grounds on which it is proposed to confiscate the goods or to impose a penalty;
(b) is given an opportunity of making a representation in writing within such reasonable time as may be specified in the notice against the grounds of confiscation or imposition of penalty mentioned therein; and
(c) is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter :
Provided that the notice referred to in clause (a) and the representation referred to in clause (b) may, at the request of the person concerned be oral.
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1. Substituted for "writing informing" by the Taxation Laws ( Amendment ) Act, 2006.