Drawback jurisdiction bar extends to recovery disputes; tribunal orders without jurisdiction are void and cannot support refund relief.

The proviso to Section 129A(1)(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 excludes the Appellate Tribunal's jurisdiction over disputes relating to drawback, and that exclusion extends to recovery proceedings arising from the same entitlement issue. A statutory bar on subject-matter jurisdiction goes to the root of the tribunal's authority and cannot be cured by consent, waiver, or acquiescence. An order passed without jurisdiction is a nullity and cannot sustain a refund granted under it; the affected party remains free to pursue the statutory revision remedy before the Central Government.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Appellate Tribunal had jurisdiction to entertain an appeal concerning payment and recovery of drawback under the proviso to Section 129A(1)(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, and whether the order passed by the Tribunal and the consequential refund could survive.

Analysis: The proviso to Section 129A(1)(b) excludes the Tribunal's jurisdiction in respect of orders relating to payment of drawback. The Court held that the exclusion extends to recovery as well, because the adjudication in either situation necessarily concerns eligibility and entitlement to drawback under Chapter X of the Customs Act, 1962. The Court further held that subject-matter jurisdiction is a condition going to the root of the authority to decide the dispute, and a statutory bar cannot be cured by consent, waiver, or acquiescence. Since the appeal before the Tribunal was not maintainable, the Tribunal's order was without jurisdiction and could not support the refund granted pursuant to it.

Conclusion: The Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to decide the matter falling within the exclusion under Section 129A(1)(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, and its order was void ab initio. The impugned notices demanding recovery of the refunded drawback were therefore not liable to be interfered with, though the assessee was left free to pursue the statutory revision remedy before the Central Government.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute expressly bars the appellate tribunal from entertaining appeals relating to drawback, the bar extends to the recovery side of the same drawback dispute, and any order passed in breach of that exclusion is a nullity that cannot be validated by consent or waiver.

---