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Issues:
Jurisdiction and maintainability of appeals before the Tribunal regarding the recovery of erroneously paid drawback and determination of market value for eligibility of drawback. Analysis: The applicants filed Revision applications before the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, following the direction in the Collector (Appeals) order. However, the Jt. Secretary to the Government of India held that the Revision applications pertained to amendment of shipping bills under Sec. 149 of the Customs Act, not related to the Asstt. Collector's order for recovery of erroneously paid drawback, leading to the rejection of the applications due to lack of jurisdiction. The applicants then filed appeals before the Tribunal challenging this decision. The consultant for the applicants argued that the Revision applications were timely filed and fell within the jurisdiction of the Jt. Secretary, as the demands were related to recovery of erroneously paid drawback and market value determination for drawback eligibility under Sec. 76 of the Customs Act. Despite this argument, the Revisional authority rejected the applications, necessitating the appeal before the Tribunal and requesting condonation of the delay. The Respondent did not dispute the facts but contended that the matter involved not only the confirmation of demands but also the refusal to amend the market value on shipping bills. Since drawback payment depends on the market value, the Jt. Secretary deemed the issue under the Tribunal's purview, with no objection to condoning the delay. The Tribunal, after hearing both sides, considered the jurisdiction and maintainability of the appeals. Referring to Sec. 129A of the Customs Act, it noted that appeals related to payment of drawback are excluded from the Tribunal's jurisdiction. The issue at hand involved demands for recovery of drawback amounts and determination of market value affecting drawback eligibility. Despite the Revisionary authority's view on the shipping bills' value amendment, the Tribunal concluded that the issues fell under Chapter X of the Customs Act, excluding them from its jurisdiction. Consequently, the Tribunal directed the appellants to return to the Revisionary authority for further consideration of their applications on merits.
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