Coercive duty recovery barred pending remanded appeal and stay decision before the appellate authority.

Where an appeal is remanded with a direction to decide the stay application first and then the appeal on merits, coercive recovery of the confirmed duty cannot proceed while the matter remains pending before the appellate authority. The Department must await the Collector (Appeals)' decision, and recovery action at that stage is impermissible.

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Issues: Whether recovery proceedings could be taken for the duty demand when the appeal had already been remanded with a direction to decide the stay application and thereafter the appeal on merits.

Analysis: The appeal had been disposed of by remand, with the Collector (Appeals) directed to first decide the stay application and then decide the appeal itself. In that situation, coercive action for recovery of the duty confirmed by the Assistant Collector could not be pursued pending the outcome before the Collector (Appeals).

Outcome: The Department was directed to await the decision of the Collector (Appeals), and coercive recovery was held to be impermissible at that stage.

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