JUDGMENT

Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.—

1.Leave granted.

2.Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by the High Court of Gujarat dismissing the writ petitions filed by the appellant.

3.Challenge before the High Court was to the order dated 10.1.2006 passed by the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (in short ‘CESTAT’) directing deposit of rupees two crores as a condition precedent for entertaining the appeal. It is to be noted that the total amount of penalty imposed was Rs.10,00,00,000/-. The dispute relates to classification of the product imported by the appellant and consequential benefits claimed by it under various Notifications issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade. The customs authorities did not accept the stand of the appellant about its classification. The levy of penalty was challenged by way of appeal before the CESTAT. It was accompanied by an application seeking waiver of the penalty imposed by the Commissioner of Customs (in short the ‘Commissioner’).

4.After hearing the parties, the CESTAT inter alia noted as follows :

“The learned Advocate for the applicants contends in one hand that a letter of Ms. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. written by its Assi