2006 (10) TMI 315

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....has filed another appeal on 21-2-06 against the same Order-in-Original. The appeal has now been filed by the Commissioner of Customs (Import). The submission of the ld. DR is that both the appeals contain the same contention. The appeal was initially filed by the Dy. Commissioner which was well in time. Now in view of the provisions of Section 129D of the Customs Act, 1962 the appeal has been filed by the Commissioner. Therefore, the appeal filed by the Commissioner may be treated in time. He drew my attention to sub-section (4) of Section 129D and submits that the sub-section (4) clearly authorizes the Commissioner of Customs to file the appeal himself or authorize any other officer of the Customs. Since initially the appeal was filed by t....

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....ommissioner has failed to file appeal by the prescribed date i.e. 12-4-2006 being the expiry date of limitation for filing the appeal, the present appeal filed by the Commissioner is time barred. He submits that there are no provisions in the Act for condonation of delay by the Tribunal. Since the present appeal has been filed on 21-4-06 the appeal is clearly time barred. To support his contention, he relies on the decision of the Larger Bench in the case of Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs v. Pradeep Kumar Shyam Sukha vide Order No. M/298 & 299/WZB/2005/EB/C-I dated 29-11-05 [2006 (202) E.L.T. 605 (Tribunal)] and draws my attention to para 6 thereof which is reproduced as under :- "In this case, it is not a question of mere pr....

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....he provisions of the Act regarding appeals shall, so far as may be, apply to "such application". This provision does not authorize this Tribunal to extend all the provisions that are applicable to appeals before it to an application falling within clause (4) of Section 35E. Provisions of the Act regarding appeals, so far as may be, alone can apply to such application. As per Venkataramaiya's Law Lexicon, Second edition, Volume IV, the words "so far as may be" mean to the extent it is applicable. Ramanatha Aiyar's Law Lexicon states that "so far as May be" means to the extent possible. The scope of these words was dealt with by Their Lordships of the Supreme Court in Dr. Pratap Singh v. Director of Enforcement, AIR 1985 SC 989. According to ....