Conditional interim stay in mixed customs and anti-dumping duty dispute, with pre-deposit relief limited by the applicable statutory position.

Pre-2004 imports were considered in a dispute involving both customs duty and anti-dumping duty, with the Tribunal noting that the amended Section 9A(8) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 linked offences and penalties to the Customs Act, 1962 only from that later point. The objection based on the earlier legal position could therefore, at most, affect the anti-dumping duty component and not the recoverable customs duty component. On that basis, interim protection was granted conditionally, with waiver of the balance pre-deposit tied to a specified deposit within the time allowed.

---

---

Issues: Whether, in a matter involving both customs duty and anti-dumping duty, the appellant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit and interim stay of the penalty imposed, and if so on what terms.

Analysis: The order noted that the import was made before 2004, when the amended provision in Section 9A(8) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 brought offences and penalties into the anti-dumping duty framework by reference to the Customs Act, 1962. It was further observed that the impugned order involved not only anti-dumping duty but also recoverable customs duty, so the objection based on the pre-2004 position could at best apply to the anti-dumping duty component and not to the customs duty component. In these circumstances, the Tribunal found it to grant interim protection, but only on payment of a specified amount within the time allowed.

Conclusion: The appellant was granted conditional interim stay and waiver of the balance pre-deposit on depositing Rs. 50,000 within six weeks, failing which the appeal would stand dismissed.

---