CESTAT allows Appeal Restoration on 20% Pre-Deposit in Customs Duty Case Involving Identical Imported Machine [Read Order]

The Delhi bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) allowed the restoration of the appeal on the condition that the appellant deposit 20% of the total duty amount confirmed in the customs duty case involving an identical imported machine.

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In this case, the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) dismissed the assessee’s appeal for the sole reason that the pre-deposit requirement was not satisfied. It is to be noted that 2 appeals have been filed against the impugned order, one by M/s. Office Plus Limited and the other by Jagjeet Singh, who is the director of the appellant company.

Coming to the facts of the present case, the appellant was appointed as a super distributor by M/s. Panasonic Asia Pacific Limited imported facsimile machines of the Panasonic Brand into India for onwards sale to regional distributors. The machines were classified by the appellant under Customs Tariff  Item (CTI) 8443 32 60, whereas the department believed it fell under CTI 8443 39 70. Due to which a Show Cause Notice was issued, and later the SCN was confirmed by the additional commissioner.

Read More: CESTAT sets aside Penalty imposed u/s 114(1) of Customs Act in absence of Evidence

The assessee’s counsel submitted that the appeal could not have been dismissed for the sole reason that the predeposit had not been made by the appellant. The counsel, by relying on the order passed by the Delhi High Court in the case of a similar distributor, contended that the CESTAT itself should decide the modification applications.

The bench disposed of the modification applications on the condition that both the appellant and Jagjeet Singh make a deposit of 20% of the penalty amount confirmed within a period of six weeks from the date of the order, and the matter was restored to the Commissioner (Appeals).

The bench, consisting of Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and Hemambika R. Priya (Technical Member), clarified that if the appellant and Jagjeet Singh fail to make the pre-deposit within six weeks from today, the appeal(s) filed before the Commissioner (Appeals) shall stand dismissed.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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