FEMA appeal forum clarified: challenges to Deputy Director adjudication orders must go first to the Special Director (Appeals).

Under FEMA, an appeal against an adjudication order passed by an Assistant Director or Deputy Director of Enforcement lies first to the Special Director (Appeals) under section 17, while section 19 permits a direct appeal to the Appellate Tribunal only in matters not covered by section 17(1). The appeal forum was treated as procedural, and the repeal-and-saving framework was applied so that even where the cause arose under the repealed regime, the appeal had to be filed before the forum created by the repealing statute. On that construction, a direct appeal to the Appellate Tribunal was not competent and the appeal was dismissed.

---

---

Issues: Whether an appeal against an adjudication order passed by a Deputy Director of Enforcement lay directly to the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, or whether the proper forum was the Special Director (Appeals) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Analysis: The appeal forum was held to be governed by the statutory scheme of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Section 17 provides an appeal to the Special Director (Appeals) against orders of an Adjudicating Authority being an Assistant Director or Deputy Director of Enforcement, while Section 19 permits appeals to the Appellate Tribunal only in cases other than those covered by Section 17(1). The forum of appeal was treated as a matter of procedure, and the earlier law on repeal and saving was applied to hold that, even where the cause of action arose under the repealed regime, the appeal had to be pursued before the forum created by the repealing statute. On that construction, a direct appeal to the Tribunal was not competent.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable before the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange and ought to have been filed before the Special Director (Appeals); the appeal was therefore dismissed.

---