CESTAT dismisses jurisdiction challenge against Customs Commissioner's order, citing lack of valid notification

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi rejected the jurisdictional challenge raised by the Commissioner of Customs, Amritsar against an order issued by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Jalandhar. The Tribunal held that the impugned order fell within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner (Appeals) as per Notification No. 16/2002-Cus. (N.T.). It deemed the amending Notification No. 78/2002-Cus. (N.T.) invalid as only the Central Government has the authority to confer appellate jurisdiction under the Customs Act. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as the Revenue failed to provide any other valid notification to support their challenge.

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Issues: Jurisdictional challenge based on validity of Notification No. 78/2002-Cus. (N.T.)

In this judgment, the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi addressed the jurisdictional challenge raised by the Commissioner of Customs, Amritsar against an order passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Jalandhar. The appeal contended that the Commissioner (Appeals) lacked jurisdiction to issue the impugned order based on Notification No. 16/2002-Cus. (N.T.) and its amendment by Notification No. 78/2002-Cus. (N.T.). The sole ground of appeal was the jurisdictional issue, specifically citing the notifications in question. The Tribunal noted that under Notification No. 16/2002, both the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Delhi-1 and Jalandhar had concurrent jurisdiction over matters within the administrative purview of the Commissioner of Customs (Prev.), Amritsar. The impugned order was found to be within jurisdiction as per the relevant notification. The jurisdictional objection raised by the department was based on Notification No. 78/2002-Cus. (N.T.), which sought to omit certain provisions affecting the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Jalandhar. However, the Tribunal held that the amending notification issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs was invalid as the authority to confer appellate jurisdiction under the Customs Act rests exclusively with the Central Government. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the amending notification had no legal effect on the original notification issued by the Central Government. As a result, the jurisdictional challenge raised by the Revenue collapsed, and the appeal was rejected. The Tribunal emphasized that the Revenue did not present any other notification to support their appeal.

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