TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (1) TMI 1343
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....in respect of a penalty of Rs. 5,00,000/- imposed on him. At this stage, the learned Superintendent (AR) raises a jurisdictional objection which is to the effect that this Tribunal has no jurisdiction to deal with this case involving a baggage which was attempted to be exported by the appellant, seized by the Customs authorities and eventually confiscated by the adjudicating authority. According to the learned Superintendent (AR), this case is covered by clause (a) of the first proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 129A of the Customs Act and hence cannot be entertained by this Tribunal. According to her, the statutory remedy available to the appellant against the impugned order is revision by the Central Government under Section 129DD of t....
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....ubmitted that the Appellate Commissioner's order could only be revised by the Central Government under Section 35EE of the Act. In the cited case, the appeal had arisen from the Appellate Commissioner's order rejecting an appeal of the assesssee filed against the original authority's rejection of the rebate claim. The appeal was rejected by the Commissioner (Appeals) on the sole ground of delay. After examining the provisions of Section 35B of the Central Excise Act (Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal) and Section 35EE of the Act (Revision by Central Government), the Single Member entertained the appeal, condoned the said delay, set aside the Appellate Commissioner's order and remanded the substantive issue to be considered by the Commission....
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....raphs of the impugned order, the learned Commissioner (Appeals) recorded briefly the facts of the case and the submissions of the appellant. The 4th paragraph of the impugned order reads as follows :- "I have gone through the records of the case and the submissions made in the grounds of appeal. The provisions of Section 129E of the Customs Act is as given below - SECTION 129E. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty and interest demanded or penalty levied. - Where in any appeal under this Chapter, the decision or order appealed against relates to any duty and interest demanded in respect of goods which are not under the control of the customs authorities or any penalty levied under this Act, the person desirous of appealing against such dec....
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.... above judgment is squarely applicable to this case also. In view of the above the appeal is not maintainable and hence the same is liable to be dismissed." The impugned order, obviously, did not consider the baggage issue, nor did it refer to that issue in the operative part which was dedicated to the question whether the party's appeal could be maintained in the absence of pre-deposit. The learned Commissioner (Appeals) reproduced Section 129E ibid, observed that there was neither any pre-deposit nor any stay application by the appellant and held that the appeal was, therefore, not maintainable. The appeal thus came to be dismissed as not maintainable. It is this order which is under challenge to this Tribunal. The question is whether ....
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....cisions may appear to be applicable to the facts of the instant case but, on a closer analysis, a distinction is discernible. In the case of Metal Concepts (India) relied on by the learned Superintendent (AR), a view was taken after examining the provisions of Section 35B of the Central Excise Act. In the case of Disha Foods Pvt. Ltd. cited by the learned counsel, the provisions of Section 35B and those of Section 35EE of the Act were harmoniously construed and a view was taken. It is trite law that, in any given factual situation, the scheme of law should be correctly deciphered and rightly applied. In the present controversy, the appellate provisions of Section 129A of the Customs Act and the revisionary provisions of Section 129DD of the....
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....tuation where this Appellate Tribunal dismisses the captioned appeal as not maintainable. Does the law enable the appellant to approach the Central Government with a prayer for remand to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits? The answer to this question is an emphatic "no" because the Central Government does not have the power to remand the case to the Appellate Commissioner. The Government may revise an order passed on merits by Commissioner (Appeals) on a baggage-related issue. There is no revisable order of the Commissioner (Appeals) in the present case. 8. In the result, the scheme of judicial remedies would require the captioned appeal to be maintained by this Tribunal not on merits of the baggage-related issue but ....