Customs jurisdiction under separate Commissionerates: concurrent authority not presumed, but transfer to the competent office upheld.

Where a customs notification clearly demarcates charges between port and airport Commissionerates, concurrent jurisdiction cannot be presumed over each other's matters, and the first issue was decided against the assessee. At the same time, a superior authority may transfer a refund claim to the Commissionerate having proper territorial and functional competence, so the transfer of the claim to the Airport Commissionerate was upheld and the second issue was decided in favour of the assessee. The note affirms that jurisdiction under the notification is separately assigned, but transfer to the competent authority is permissible and cannot be rejected on a hyper-technical objection.

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Issues: (i) Whether the Commissionerates of Customs at the port and airport had concurrent jurisdiction under Notification No. 15/2002-Cus. (NT) dated 07.03.2002; (ii) Whether the refund claim could be transferred to the competent jurisdictional Commissionerate.

Issue (i): The notification assigned distinct charges to the Commissionerates and their officers in respect of the port and airport areas. The statutory arrangement demarcated the respective jurisdictions and did not support a common or overlapping assumption of authority over each other's matters.

Conclusion: The first issue was answered against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

Issue (ii): A superior authority may direct transfer of a matter to the authority competent to deal with it. Since the refund claim related to the Airport Commissionerate, transfer to that Commissionerate was justified and no objection could be sustained on a hyper-technical ground.

Conclusion: The second issue was answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was disposed of with the ruling that jurisdiction under the notification was separately assigned to the relevant Commissionerates, while transfer of the refund claim to the competent Commissionerate was permissible.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a notification clearly demarcates jurisdiction between Commissionerates, concurrent jurisdiction cannot be presumed, and a claim may be transferred to the authority having the proper territorial and functional competence.

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