2019 (9) TMI 1043

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....pellant as not maintainable. In the circumstances, the Appeal is admitted on the following substantial question of law. 'Whether the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that no appeal under section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 is maintainable against the order passed by the Commissioner of Customs dated 28 June 2019 against the order /communication rejecting the request of original release of seized goods?' 3. The Appellant is a Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in a business of import of food items inter alia of in-shell walnuts, for trading in India. During the course of its business, the Appellant purchased Duty Free Import Authorizations issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade under For....

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.... the Tribunal was an application for early hearing which was allowed and the appeal was taken up immediately. The reason why the appeal was dismissed as not maintainable is to be found in paragraph (4) of the impugned order which reads thus : 'The appellant in this case has filed the present appeal against the impugned communication dated 28.06.2019 of the Commissioner of Customs, SIIB, Raigad, wherein the request of the appellant for provisional release of the seized goods was not considered. On perusal of the statutory provisions, we find that sub-section (1) of Section 129A of the Customs Act, 1962 provides that a decision or order passed by the Commissioner as an adjudicating authority, can be appealed against before the Tribunal. The....

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.... of provisional release of goods is maintainable before the Tribunal. The Division Bench also adverted to the aspect as to whether such communication in respect of provisional release of goods is an administrative decision and opined that this aspect would not make a difference as regards the question of maintainability of appeal under section 129A(1)(a) of the Act of 1962. In the Writ Petition No.9737 of 2019 and Writ Petition No.4276 of 2019 when the assessee directly approached this Court with the case of prayer for provisional release of goods, the Division Bench has relegated the Petitioners therein to the remedy of appeal, holding the appeal is maintainable. 8. Thus, the position is settled that an appeal would be maintainable from a....