2007 (6) TMI 452 - AT - Customs

Summary

Issues involved:
The appeal against the demand of anti-dumping duty on Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) imported by the appellants and cleared under four Bills of Entry during November-December, 2002.

Issue 1: Finalization of provisional assessments under Section 18(2) of the Customs Act
The jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner issued a letter to the party proposing 'finalization of provisional assessments under Section 18(2) of the Customs Act' for the imported goods. The party did not respond to this letter, and later, the Assistant Commissioner passed an order 'finalizing assessments under Section 18(2) of the Customs Act' and directed the assessee to pay the anti-dumping duty. The order was challenged before the Commissioner (Appeals) who directed the appellants to pre-deposit the entire duty amount under Section 129E of the Customs Act. As there was no evidence of pre-deposit, the appeal was dismissed. The Tribunal remanded the case to the Commissioner (Appeals) to pass a fresh order on the stay applications and to deal with the appeals in accordance with law and principles of natural justice.

Issue 2: Pre-deposit requirement for appeal
The appellate authority directed the appellants to pre-deposit 75% of the duty amount, but the appellants did not comply, leading to the dismissal of their appeal. The appellants argued that similar orders in other cases were remanded by the Tribunal without insisting on pre-deposit. The Revenue contended that a decision by the anti-dumping Bench at New Delhi favored them, and the appellants should be directed to pre-deposit. The Tribunal considered previous decisions and held that the Commissioner (Appeals) should dispose of the appeal on merits without requiring any pre-deposit, as directed in a previous order.

In conclusion, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and allowed the appeal by way of remand with a direction to the Commissioner (Appeals) to dispose of the appeal on merits without insisting on pre-deposit, providing the assessee with a reasonable opportunity to be heard.