Tribunal discretion to refuse appeals where penalty falls below statutory threshold, leading to non admission and dismissal.

The note addresses admissibility and maintainability of appeals under the statutory proviso allowing the Appellate Tribunal discretion to refuse admission where the penalty determined is below the prescribed monetary threshold; applying that discretion, the Tribunal declined to admit appeals involving lesser penalties. It also affirms the evidential presumption of dispatch and delivery for appellate papers where certified copies were sent by speed post and not returned, and records that merits of the penalties were not examined because the determination was limited to admissibility under the proviso.

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Issues: Whether the Appellate Tribunal should admit and entertain appeals against orders imposing penalty where the amount of penalty involved in each appeal is less than Rs. two lakhs under the second proviso to Section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, and whether the appeals are maintainable.

Analysis: The Tribunal considered the second proviso to Section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 which vests discretion in the Appellate Tribunal to refuse admission of appeals where, inter alia, the amount of fine or penalty determined by the order does not exceed two lakh rupees. The material shows penalties of Rs.25,000 and Rs.75,000 were imposed in the respective original orders. The Tribunal also examined the dispatch and delivery presumption under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act and found certified copies of the orders were dispatched to the appellant by speed post and not returned undelivered; the presumption of delivery was not rebutted. The Tribunal noted that neither the Commissioner (Appeal) nor the Tribunal had examined the merits of the penalties and limited its determination to admissibility and maintainability under the statutory proviso.

Conclusion: The Tribunal exercised its discretion under the second proviso to Section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and declined to admit the appeals because the penalty involved in each appeal is less than Rs. two lakhs; the appeals are not maintainable and are dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the penalty or fine determined by the order does not exceed Rs. two lakhs, the Appellate Tribunal may, in its discretion, refuse to admit an appeal under the second proviso to Section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962; absence of rebuttal to the presumption of service under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act supports maintenance of dispatch and delivery for limitation and admissibility purposes.

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