2007 (3) TMI 563 - AT - Customs

Summary

Issues:
Appeal maintainability based on timing of filing against impugned orders.

The judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, Mumbai involved the dismissal of applications filed by the Revenue for disposal of appeals by way of remand. The importers had previously filed appeals against impugned orders passed by the Commissioner of Customs, which were disposed of by the Tribunal by way of remand. Subsequently, the Revenue filed appeals against the same impugned orders after the importers' appeals had been disposed of. The Tribunal cited a larger bench decision in the case of LML Ltd., emphasizing that once the impugned order has merged with the final order passed by the Tribunal, appeals filed by the Revenue cannot be entertained. The Tribunal held that since there was no appeal filed by the Revenue against the importers' appeals when they were disposed of, the subsequent appeals by the Revenue were not maintainable. This decision was supported by the Tribunal's order dated 4-7-2005. The Tribunal also referred to the case of Bhagwati Ispat Ltd., where a similar principle was applied, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeals as not maintainable based on the timing of filing.

In conclusion, the Tribunal held that the appeals filed by the Revenue were not maintainable as they were filed after the impugned orders had already merged with the final orders passed by the Tribunal. Following the ratio laid down in previous decisions and the peculiar circumstances of the case, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeals. The Tribunal's decision was based on the principle that once an impugned order has merged with the Tribunal's final order, subsequent challenges by the Revenue through filing appeals cannot be entertained. The dismissal of the Revenue's appeals was in line with the Tribunal's consistent approach regarding the timing of filing appeals against impugned orders, ensuring the integrity and finality of the Tribunal's decisions.