Customs duty rate disputes under competing notifications must follow the statutory appeal route to the Supreme Court.

Where the dispute concerns the rate of customs duty under competing notifications, the statutory appeal lies to the Supreme Court under the Customs Act rather than to the High Court. The presence of issues on interest and penalty did not change the character of the controversy, because they were ancillary to the duty-rate question and fell with the Tribunal's remand and setting aside of the original adjudication. The High Court therefore treated the matter as one within the special appellate route and held the appeal not maintainable before it, without answering the substantial questions of law.

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Issues: Whether the appeal was maintainable before the High Court when the dispute related to the rate of duty under customs notifications and fell within the statutory appeal route to the Supreme Court.

Analysis: The dispute raised by the revenue was essentially about the rate of duty leviable on the assessee in the light of competing customs notifications. In such a case, the statutory scheme under Section 130E of the Customs Act, 1962, provides an appeal to the Supreme Court. The challenge to the setting aside of interest and penalty did not alter the character of the controversy, because once the Tribunal had remanded the matter and set aside the original adjudication, the ancillary consequences of interest and penalty were also displaced, leaving the core controversy as one relating to duty rate.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable before the High Court and was dismissed without answering the substantial questions of law.

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