Tribunal dismisses ROM application for rectification; affirms jurisdiction of Customs Commissioner under Customs Act.

The Tribunal dismissed the ROM application seeking rectification of a mistake in the Final Order, as it found no jurisdictional error. The MA for a stay of the Tribunal's final order was also dismissed. The Tribunal determined that the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai, who issued the Show Cause Notice, was a 'proper officer' under the Customs Act, 1962. The appellant's arguments on jurisdictional grounds were not upheld, and the Final Order remained unaffected. The judgment was pronounced on 26.03.2018.

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Issues:
- Rectification of mistake in Final Order
- Stay of operation of Tribunal's final order
- Consideration of jurisdictional issue in Final Order

Analysis:

1. The appellant filed a ROM application seeking rectification of a mistake in the Final Order and also filed an MA for a stay of operation of the Tribunal's final order during the pendency of the ROM application. The appellant argued that the issue of jurisdiction was not considered in the Final Order, which was an error apparent on the face of the record.

2. The appellant contended that the Commissioner of Customs, SIIB, who issued the Show Cause Notice (SCN), was not a 'proper officer' as per the Customs Act, 1962. The appellant argued that the Tribunal did not consider the jurisdictional issue despite it being raised in written submissions. The appellant cited relevant case laws and submitted that the Final Order should be set aside based on jurisdictional grounds.

3. The respondent argued that the SCN issued by the Commissioner of Customs, SIIB, was valid and not flawed in terms of jurisdiction. The respondent stated that the issue of jurisdiction was not raised by the appellant during the proceedings, and thus, there was no error apparent on the face of the record.

4. The Tribunal observed that the appellant mainly focused on the merits of the case in the written submissions, with only a brief mention of the jurisdictional issue. The Bench did not prevent the appellant from arguing the jurisdictional issue during the hearing. The records indicated that the appellant did not raise the jurisdictional issue in earlier hearings, and the Bench heard the matter for the first time on 19.05.2017.

5. The Tribunal analyzed the jurisdictional issue raised by the appellant and referred to relevant legal principles established by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and High Court. It was noted that the SCN in question was issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai, who was considered a 'proper officer' under the Customs Act, 1962. The Tribunal found that the SCN and the proceedings were not affected by the judgments cited by the appellant.

6. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that there was no apparent mistake in the Final Order regarding the jurisdictional issue. The ROM application seeking rectification was deemed meritless and dismissed. Consequently, the MA for a stay of the Tribunal's final order was also disposed of. The judgment was pronounced on 26.03.2018.

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