The Bangalore bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal ( CESTAT ) dismissed the appeal due to a 325-day delay attributed to medical reasons, finding that it lacked the authority to condone the delay based on statutory limitations set forth in the Customs Act,1962.
Access Enterprises,the appellant-assessee,had imported car accessories and filed a bill of entry for clearance. Alleging misdeclaration and undervaluation, the Adjudication Authority, through Order-in-Original No. 49/2014 dated 17.10.2014, had rejected the declared value, enhanced it, and imposed a fine and penalty.
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Aggrieved by this, the assessee had appealed to the Commissioner (Appeals), who dismissed the appeal, noting that the Order-in-Original had been received on 23.10.2014, but the appeal was filed late on 13.11.2015. As per Section 129 of the Customs Act, 1962, the appeal should have been filed by 20.01.2015, resulting in a delay of 325 days. The appellant then filed an appeal before the tribunal.
When the matter was heard, the Learned Counsel argued that they had a strong case on merit and submitted an affidavit citing medical reasons for the delay. The affidavit stated that the appellant’s proprietor had been advised bed rest by doctors, which prevented him from managing daily business tasks.
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The Authorised Representative (AR) for the Revenue opposed the appellant’s argument and submitted that the Customs Act, 1962, does not allow condonation of delay in filing an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) beyond the statutory period of 90 days.
A single member bench of P.A.Augustian (Judicial Member) found that, although the appellant submitted an affidavit and argued that the delay in filing the appeal was due to medical reasons and beyond their control, the Tribunal had no power to condone the delay given the statutory limitation for filing the appeal. Therefore, the appeal was not sustainable.
Hence, the appeal filed by the appellant is dismissed.
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