Customs appeal maintainability turns on monetary threshold, with gold smuggling dispute dismissed under binding departmental instruction.

The departmental instruction governing customs appeals barred maintainability where the alleged gold smuggling dispute involved value below the prescribed monetary threshold. Applying the binding Division Bench view, the High Court treated the instruction as preventing the Customs Department from pursuing the appeal on facts where the disputed gold was valued below the limit, and the asserted exception did not alter that result. The appeal was therefore dismissed as not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the Customs Department's appeal was maintainable in view of the monetary limit prescribed by the departmental instruction, where the disputed gold was valued at less than Rs. 1 crore.

Analysis: The appeal concerned alleged smuggling of gold valued at about Rs. 27.90 lakh. The Court applied the binding view of the Division Bench that appeals by the Customs Department in matters involving alleged gold smuggling are not maintainable where the monetary involvement is below Rs. 1 crore. The Court held that the departmental circular or instruction governing filing of appeals barred the present appeal and that the exception urged by the appellant did not save maintainability in these facts.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable and stood dismissed against the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: A departmental appeal in a customs matter involving alleged smuggling of gold is not maintainable when the monetary value is below the prescribed threshold and the governing filing instruction bars such appeals.

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