Rectification under Customs law is unavailable against a Larger Bench reference order that only resolves the referred issue.

Rectification under Section 129B(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 lies only against an order passed under Section 129B(1) that finally confirms, modifies, annuls, or remands the decision under appeal. A Larger Bench reference order that merely answers the referred legal issue and sends the matter back for disposal by the Regular Bench is only an intermediate ruling; it does not finally dispose of the appeal or operate as a final appellate order. Accordingly, such a reference order is not amenable to rectification under Section 129B(2), and the rectification application was not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether a rectification application was maintainable under Section 129B(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 against a Larger Bench reference order that only answered the reference and did not finally dispose of the appeal.

Analysis: Section 129B(2) permits amendment only of an order passed under Section 129B(1), that is, an order which finally confirms, modifies, annuls, or remands the decision under appeal. The impugned reference order merely resolved the conflicting legal issue for the Regular Bench and sent the matter back for disposal of the pending appeal. It did not itself finally determine the appeal, nor did it confirm, modify, annul, or remand the original order in the statutory sense. As the order was only an intermediate reference ruling, the power of rectification under Section 129B(2) was not attracted.

Conclusion: The rectification application was not maintainable and was rightly rejected.

Final Conclusion: A Larger Bench reference answer, when it does not finally dispose of the appeal, cannot be treated as an order amenable to rectification under Section 129B(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Ratio Decidendi: Rectification under Section 129B(2) lies only against a final appellate order passed under Section 129B(1), not against an intermediate reference order that merely guides the Regular Bench on the legal issue referred.

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