Per S.S. Sekhon : After rejecting the request for adjournment, this stay petition as well as appeal is taken up for final decision as the issue lies in a narrow compass.

2. The Commissioner (Appeals) has rejected the appeal against a letter issued by the Assistant Commissioner for finalisation of provisional assessment as it appears from the annexures at page 20 of the paper book.

3. We find that Section 128 of the Customs Act provides an empowers the Collector (Appeals) to consider and pass a decision on an application filed by any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under the Customs Act, so long as the Officer of the Customs lower in rank than a Collector of Customs has passed such or an order or decision. While Section 129A provides that a decision in order passed by the Commissioner of Customs, as an adjudicating authority could be taken cognizence by the appellate Tribunal. The difference in the wording of Section 129 (sic-128) and 129A cannot be ignored. The Commissioner (Appeals) should take cognizence on the decision, conveyed by the said impugned letter of finalisation of provisional assessments. On this view, of the matter, we find that earlier a catena o