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Issues involved: Condonation of delay in filing and re-filing of appeal u/s 130 of the Customs Act, 1962.
Summary: The appellant filed applications seeking condonation of delay in filing and re-filing the appeal u/s 130 of the Customs Act, 1962. The appeal was required to be filed within 180 days from the date the order appealed against was received by the Commissioner of Customs. The impugned order was received on 20-7-2006, and the appeal was filed on 12-9-2007 after a delay of 239 days, ultimately refiled on 14-1-2008 due to objections raised by the Registry. The appellant attributed the delay to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's investigation, stating that their comments were necessary to examine the legality of the impugned order. The Directorate's comments were received on 9-11-2006, followed by inter and intra-departmental communications regarding jurisdictional doubts. The Senior Central Government Counsel received the draft appeal on 8-8-2007, leading to the final filing on 12-9-2007. The confusion between filing an appeal or a reference application was also mentioned as a reason for the delay. The Court noted that the total delay amounted to 371 days, including the initial 239-day delay in filing the appeal. However, the Court was not satisfied with the appellant's explanation. It was observed that both the Commissioner of Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence were aware of the 180-day limitation period under Section 130 of the Act. The Court held that the case was not complex enough to justify the delays caused by obtaining comments, legal advice, and inter-departmental communications. Consequently, the Court refused to condone the delay and dismissed the appeal.
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