Baggage import appeals barred before the Tribunal where statutory exclusion under customs law applies; transfer request also rejected.

Section 40 of the Finance Act, 1984 excluded the Appellate Tribunal's jurisdiction over orders under clause (b) of Section 129A of the Customs Act where the goods were imported or exported as baggage. Because the goods were admitted to be baggage, the statutory bar applied and the appeal was not maintainable before the Tribunal. A request to transfer the matter to the revisional authority was also rejected, as the Customs Act did not provide for such transfer.

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Issues: Whether an appeal lay to the Appellate Tribunal against the Collector (Appeals) order when the imported goods were baggage and the Tribunal's jurisdiction stood excluded.

Analysis: The appeal concerned goods claimed by the appellant to have been imported as baggage. Section 40 of the Finance Act, 1984 took away the Appellate Tribunal's jurisdiction in respect of orders under clause (b) of Section 129A of the Customs Act, 1962 where the order related to goods imported or exported as baggage. In view of the admitted character of the goods as baggage, the statutory bar operated directly against maintainability before the Tribunal. The request to transfer the matter to the revisional authority was also declined, as the Customs Act did not provide for such transfer.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable before the Tribunal and the request for transfer was rejected.

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