1990 (3) TMI 197

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.... the ground that the appeal filed by the department was beyond the limitation prescribed under Sec. 129D(2) of the Customs Act, 1962. 2. When the matter was called out for hearing Mr. Paithankar, purchase clerk of the respondents' firm, appeared and submitted a letter dated 28-2-1990 enclosing therewith the copy of written representation filed before the Collector of Customs (Appeals) and submitting that there was no case for the department requiring the order of the Collector of Customs (Appeals) to be set aside. As a postscript, they have mentioned "In case you have any further queries, kindly give a personal hearing at a suitable date". Reading the letter as a whole, it appears that they do not require to be heard in person on the poi....

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....e period of limitation prescribed under Sec. 129D(3) of the Act was "two years". However, subsequent thereto, and before the Collector of Central Excise and Customs, could exercise his powers, under Sec. 129D(2), sub-section (3) was amended vide Finance Act, 1984, reducing the limitation prescribed for review, from "two years" to "one year". As submitted by the learned JDR, therefore, the situation that arose was, that, when the order under appeal was taken up for review, the period of limitation available was "two years" which came to be curtailed to "one year" when the decision on review was taken. He also submitted that the amendment in sub-sec. (3) came at a stage, when the period of one year had already expired, after passing of the or....

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....as brought into effect from 11-5-1984 order under Sec. 129D(2) was passed on 30-11-1984. From this, it is clear that when the occasion to exercise power arose, the time-limit prescribed was two years, which was reduced to one year, even after expiry of the period of one year. The Finance Act, 1984, neither provides any saving clause nor makes its operation with retrospective effect. 6. Right to review and file an appeal is a right invested in the concerned authority under a statute, and statutory right so invested cannot be divested by any subsequent enactment unless the subsequently enacted statute expressly provides for the same. In the instant case, right to file accrued to the department, on 6-8-1983, when the Assistant Collector san....