M. S. Sanklecha, J.

This Full Bench has been constituted on a reference made on 23rd April, 2015 by a Division Bench of this Court in Amritlakshmi Machine Works & Others v/s. The Commissioner of Customs (Import), 303 ELP 161. This reference has arisen when the Division Bench in Amritlakshmi Machine Works (supra) was considering four appeals (two by the partnership firm and two by its managing partner) under Section 130 of the Customs Act, 1962 (the Act) from a common order dated 7th May 2012 of the Customs, Excise Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (Tribunal). All the four appeals raised the following substantial question of law:“

Whether the Tribunal has erred in imposing simultaneous penalties on both partners and partnership firm?”

This reference arose as in the view of the Division Bench in Amritlakshmi Machine Works (supra) there was a cleavage of opinion on the above issue between the decisions of two Division Benches of this Court. In Texoplast Industries v/s. Additional Commissioner of Customs, 272 ELT 513 the Division Bench answered the above question in the negative i.e. in favour of the Revenue while in Commissioner of Customs (EP) v/s. Jupiter Exports, 213 ELT 641 th