The Gujarat High Court quashed two show-cause notices issued nearly 15 years ago by the Customs Department against Rohan Dyes and Intermediates Limited by quoting the lyrics from Pink Floyd’s song “Time” to highlight the impact of the delay, as per reports.

The division bench of Justices Bhargav Karia and DN Ray referenced the 1973 track to emphasise the consequences of lost opportunities due to procedural delays.

As per reports, the case dates back to 2009, when Rohan Dyes exported “Synthetic Organic Dyes Acid Black-210” under two shipping bills on September 14 from Ahmedabad’s Inland Container Depot, availing the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) suspected misdeclaration and conducted a search on September 15, 2009. It later reported that one of the shipments contained Acid Black-234 instead of Acid Black-210.

The first show-cause notice was reportedly issued on March 8, 2010, alleging wrongful DEPB benefits and proposing confiscation of goods. The company was also required to make a pre-deposit of ₹75 lakh as directed by the DRI, as per reports. 

A second, separate notice reportedly followed on November 3, 2011, seeking recovery of ₹1.23 crore in DEPB benefits from April 2005 to April 2010, including interest and penalties.

Rohan Dyes and Intermediates Limited responded to the notices on June 15, 2012, denying misdeclaration and asserting that Acid Black-210 and Acid Black-234 were similar and identical in chemical composition and structure.

In its order dated March 7 and uploaded on March 25, the court ruled that the prolonged delay in adjudicating the notices made them unsustainable. Quoting Pink Floyd’s lyrics, “And then one day you find ten years have got behind you… No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun…,” noting how time had slipped away in the case.