https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=17428 Mandatory customs pre-deposit under Section 129E is treated as a binding threshold for appeals, with the Commissioner and CESTAT lacking power to admit an appeal without compliance. High Court proceedings may be used to seek judicial consideration of waiver, reduction, or time for payment where financial distress is pleaded. Tecmax received a time-bound opportunity to make the deposit and restore its CESTAT appeal, while Sea Queen, which directly invoked writ jurisdiction claiming inability to pay, was found not to have established an exceptional case. The differing treatment raises concerns about consistent application of financial-distress and exceptional-case standards. en-us Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:25:30 +0530 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:25:30 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=17428 Mandatory customs pre-deposit under Section 129E is treated as a binding threshold for appeals, with the Commissioner and CESTAT lacking power to admit an appeal without compliance. High Court proceedings may be used to seek judicial consideration of waiver, reduction, or time for payment where financial distress is pleaded. Tecmax received a time-bound opportunity to make the deposit and restore its CESTAT appeal, while Sea Queen, which directly invoked writ jurisdiction claiming inability to pay, was found not to have established an exceptional case. The differing treatment raises concerns about consistent application of financial-distress and exceptional-case standards. Articles Customs - Import - Export - SEZ Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:25:30 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/article/detailed?id=17428