2015 (2) TMI 913 - AT - Customs

Restoration of appeal - Appeal dismissed for COD clearance - Held that - Even though in terms of the apex Court order, permission from CoD is not required for pursuing the appeal before the appellate Tribunal, it has been held in a number of judicial pronouncements that the appellant should have filed for clearance from CoD and only in such cases the permission from CoD can be waiver. Inasmuch as the appellant has not filed any application before CoD for pursuing the appeal before this Tribunal, we are unable to permit the appellant to pursue the appellate remedy before this Tribunal. - Restoration denied.

Summary

Issues:
Application for restoration of appeal against dismissal for want of CoD clearance.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to an application for restoration of appeal made against an order dated 19/06/2013, where the appeal was dismissed due to the absence of Committee on Disputes (CoD) clearance. The appellant was directed to either produce CoD clearance or demonstrate that the application for CoD was pending.

The appellant's representative argued that seeking permission from CoD was unnecessary based on a decision of the apex court in Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. vs. Union of India 2011 (265) ELT 11. However, it was acknowledged that when the appeal was initially filed in 2004, no application was made to CoD for permission to file the appeal before the appellate Tribunal.

On the other hand, the Additional Commissioner representing the Revenue contended that restoration of the application could only be considered if the appellant had previously submitted an application to CoD, which was awaiting consideration.

After hearing both parties, the tribunal noted that while permission from CoD might not be mandatory as per the apex court's ruling, various judicial decisions have emphasized the necessity of seeking clearance from CoD. The tribunal highlighted that only in cases where the appellant had applied for CoD clearance could the requirement for permission from CoD be waived. As the appellant had not made any application to CoD for pursuing the appeal before the tribunal, the tribunal concluded that the appellant could not be allowed to proceed with the appellate remedy.

Ultimately, the application for restoration of appeal was dismissed by the tribunal.