2014 (6) TMI 336 - AT - Customs

Appeal Dismissed Due to Late Filing: Communication Date Key.

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal challenging an assessment order as time-barred due to a 97-day delay in filing, beyond the condonable period. The ... Maintainability of appeal - Time period of filing appeal - Held that:- goods have been assessed to duty on 09/06/2009 and the assessment order was passed on that date. It is an entirely different matter that the appellant paid the duty subsequently and got the goods cleared after examination by the Customs and out of charge order was issued on 17/06/2009. appeal has to be filed within 60 days from the communication of the assessment order. In the present case it is not in dispute that the assessment order was passed and communicated on 09/06/2009. Therefore, the time limit for computing the appeal period has to be counted from 09/06/2009 which is the date of communication of the assessment order and not from 17/06/2009 when the out of charge order was passed. - it is seen that there Was no re-assessment done after examination. From the Section 128, it is clear that the assessment was complete on 09/06/2009 though payment of duty, examination of the goods and out-of-chargewas done later - Following decision of Singh Enterprises vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Jamshedpur cited [2007 (12) TMI 11 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] - Decided against assessee. Issues:1. Timeliness of filing an appeal against an assessment order.2. Determining the starting point for the appeal period.3. Interpretation of relevant legal provisions and precedents.Issue 1: Timeliness of filing an appeal against an assessment order:The appellant filed an appeal challenging the assessment order after a delay of 97 days, beyond the condonable period. The appellate authority dismissed the appeal as time-barred due to the delay. The appellant argued that the delay should be condoned since they were heard on merits within the time frame. However, the Revenue contended that the appeal should have been filed within 60 days from the date of communication of the assessment order, not from the date of out of charge. The Tribunal analyzed the provisions of the Customs Act, noting that the appeal period should be counted from the date of communication of the assessment order.Issue 2: Determining the starting point for the appeal period:The Tribunal considered the assessment process, distinguishing between first check and second check assessments under Section 17 of the Customs Act. In this case, no reassessment was done after examination, indicating that the assessment was completed on the date of assessment, not the date of out of charge. Precedents were cited to support the position that the appeal period should be calculated from the date of assessment, as per the statutory provisions.Issue 3: Interpretation of relevant legal provisions and precedents:Various legal arguments were presented by both parties, citing case laws and statutory provisions. The Tribunal analyzed the applicability of these precedents to the current case. It was noted that the cited cases dealt with different scenarios, such as CENVAT credit availment and refund applications, which were not directly relevant to the timeliness of filing an appeal against an assessment order. Ultimately, the Tribunal found the appeal devoid of merits and dismissed it based on the statutory provisions and precedents cited.This detailed analysis of the judgment highlights the key issues, arguments presented by the parties, statutory provisions, and precedents considered by the Tribunal in reaching its decision to dismiss the appeal.