2017 (6) TMI 1008 - AT - Customs

Tribunal Upholds Commissioner's Decision on Drawback Dispute

The Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue challenging the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) regarding the demand of drawback claimed by the ... Jurisdiction - power of Tribunal to entertain an appeal - whether, the Tribunal has the power to entertain the appeal against the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) against the demand of draw back claimed by the exporter? - Held that: - order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 128 with regard to payment of draw back will not lie before the Tribunal and the Tribunal is not empowered to decide such issues decided in the order of Commissioner (Appeals). Whether matter involving both draw back as well as classification decided by the Commissioner (Appeals), can be appealed against before the Tribunal? - Held that: - in the case of CCE Rohtak vs. Jindal stainless Ltd. [2013 (1) TMI 611 - CESTAT NEW DELHI] has held that the appeal involved mixed question of fact/ law of both draw back as well as classification and thus, appeal cannot be maintainable before the Tribunal. Appeal dismissed - decided against appellant. Issues:- Jurisdiction of the Tribunal to entertain appeal against the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) regarding the demand of drawback claimed by the exporter.Analysis:1. The appeal before the Tribunal questioned whether the Tribunal has the authority to entertain an appeal against the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) concerning the demand of drawback claimed by the exporter. The matter arose from Show Cause Proceedings initiated by the Department against the respondent-exporter regarding the applicability of drawback and the accuracy of the classification of export of human hair.2. The Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) set aside the adjudication order confirming duty drawback of &8377; 2,03,13,339/- against the consignment exported by the Respondent. The Tribunal examined the statutory provision contained in Section 129A of the Customs Act, 1962, which outlines the orders against which an appeal can be made to the Appellate Tribunal.3. It was observed that the issue was solely related to the drawback claim filed by the exporter. The Tribunal highlighted that according to Section 129A, the Tribunal does not have the authority to decide issues related to payment of drawback as provided in Chapter X and the rules made thereunder. The Tribunal emphasized that the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) regarding the payment of drawback cannot be appealed before the Tribunal.4. The Tribunal referred to a previous case, CCE Rohtak vs. Jindal stainless Ltd., where it was held that if an appeal involves mixed questions of fact/law related to both drawback and classification, the appeal cannot be maintained before the Tribunal. The Tribunal cited a relevant paragraph from the case to support its decision.5. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the appeal filed by the Revenue lacked merit, and therefore, it was dismissed. The Tribunal's decision was based on the interpretation of the statutory provisions and precedents set by previous judgments.