IMPORTANT POINT
Only those questions of importance, involving issues of law going beyond the inter partes rights and extending to a class or category of assessees as a whole are required to be decided by Supreme Court.

JUDGMENT :

Ranjan Gogoi, J.

1. Order on the admission of this appeal has been kept pending to enable the Court to ascertain the true sweep and purport of the appellate power of this Court under Section 130E(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 (as amended). The language of the above provision of the Act having indicated a very broad and expansive appellate jurisdiction, the precise contours thereof were felt necessary to be determined and the admissibility of the present appeal tested on the aforesaid basis.

2. It may be worthwhile at the very outset to delve into the history of the taxation regime under the Act to notice the changes that had occurred from time to time.

3. Against the assessment of customs duty made by different assessing authorities under the Act, viz., Deputy Collector of Customs/Collector of Customs, initially, an executive appellate remedy before the Collector of Customs and before the Central Board of Customs Excise and Customs, depending on the authority which has passed the initial order of assessment, was provided. There was a power of suo motu revision with the Board as well as a revisional jurisdiction to be exercised on an application by an aggrieved person. The Central Government under Section 131 (originally enacted) and under Section 129DD (Substituted by Act 21 of 1984) was also vested with a revisional jurisdiction.

4. By the Finance Act No.2 of 1980, a quasi- judicial authority, namely, Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) was constituted to hear appeals against orders of the Collector as well as the orders of the Board. The said Tribunal came to be known as Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), with the introduction of levy of service tax. The CEGAT and its successor CESTAT were constituted as specialized quasi-judicial appellate bodies to decide all issues relating to duty assessment under the Customs Act. There was no provision of appeal to the jurisdictional High Court against the order of the appellate tribunal. However, under Section 130 of the Act a Reference jurisdiction was vested in the High Court on a question of law not relating to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of customs or to the value of the goods for the purpose of assessment.

Under Section 130A, introduced by the Finance Act, 1980, a Reference jurisdiction was also conferred in the Supreme Court in case the Appellate Tribunal was of the opinion that on account of a conflict in the decisions of the High Courts on the same question of law, a reference to the Supreme Court is necessary. Under Section 130E(a) an appeal was provided to the Supreme Court from any judgment of the High Court delivered on a Reference, where the High Court certified the case to be a fit one for appeal to the Supreme Court. Under Section 130E(b) against any order passed by the Appellate Tribunal relating, among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of customs or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment, an appeal was also provided to the Supreme Court. Section 130F of the Customs Act, 1962 provided that the provisions of Civil Procedure Code, 1908 relating to appeals to the Supreme Court shall, so far as may be, apply in the case of appeals under Section 130 as they apply in the case of appeals from decrees of a High Court.

5. An amendment though not of any significant consequence, made in the year 1999 may also be noticed. The reference jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 130 which was to be exercised at the instance of the Appellate Tribunal was continued in respect of orders passed, under Section 129B, by the Appellate Tribunal on or before 1.7.1999. However, under Section 130A substituted by the Finance Act (No.27) of 1999 the Reference jurisdiction in respect of orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal on or after 1.7.1999 was to be exercised by the High Court on an application made to it seeking a reference.

6.