High Court overturns Tribunal ruling on delayed appeal, emphasizes Customs Act application.

The High Court set aside the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal's decision to dismiss a statutory appeal due to a delay of over five years. The Court found the Tribunal erred in not considering the petitioner's explanation for the delay caused by the department sending documents to an old address. Emphasizing proper application of the Customs Act, the Court directed the Tribunal to hear the appeal, considering the date of service or petitioner's knowledge as the delay starting point. All appeal contentions were left open for future consideration.

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Issues:
1. Challenge to the order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench at Mumbai.
2. Condonation of delay of more than five years in filing a statutory appeal.
3. Interpretation of Section 153 of the Customs Act regarding the service of order, decision, summons, or notice.

Detailed Analysis:
1. The writ petition challenged the order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench at Mumbai. The Tribunal had dismissed the petitioner's application requesting condonation of delay in filing a statutory appeal, which was more than five years overdue. The petitioner-applicant stated that the original order was dated 10 March 2008, but they only received a copy of the impugned order on 20 June 2013. Despite filing the appeal on 23 June 2013 within the statutory period of three months, an objection was raised by the Tribunal's registry regarding the delay.

2. The petitioner-applicant explained that the delay occurred due to the department sending the adjudication order to their old address, even though they had informed about the change of address in 1999. The Tribunal, in its reasons, relied on Section 153 of the Customs Act, which outlines the service of orders, decisions, summons, or notices. The Tribunal's reliance on clause (b) of the section was deemed erroneous as the provision specifies that service should be done by tendering personally, sending by registered post, or through an approved courier. The Tribunal's failure to consider the service by registered post at the changed address led to the dismissal of the application for condonation of delay.

3. The High Court found that the Tribunal's order was flawed due to the non-application of mind and allowed the writ petition by setting aside the Tribunal's decision. The Court accepted the petitioner's explanation for the delay and directed the Tribunal to hear the appeal in accordance with the law. The judgment emphasized that the Tribunal should have considered the date of service of the order or the petitioner's knowledge of it as the starting point for calculating the delay. The Court kept all contentions on the merits of the appeal open while disposing of the writ petition.

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