2018 (11) TMI 1400 - AT - Customs

Rectification of Mistake - imposition of penalty - error apparent on the face of record - Held that - The Tribunal vide order dt. 11/01/2016 has allowed the appeal of the appellant/assessee by passing a detailed order. Further the learned AR could not pin point as to what is the error which is apparent on the face of the order which needs to be corrected. The Revenue has raised all the grounds in this application which were there before the Hon ble High Court and subsequently, the Revenue has withdrawn the appeal before the High Court to move this application without pin pointing any error on the face of the record - there are no error apparent on the face of the record - ROM application allowed.

Summary

Issues:
Rectification of mistake in the Final Order regarding penalty imposition.

Analysis:
The Revenue filed a miscellaneous application seeking rectification of a mistake in the Final Order passed by the Tribunal, which set aside the penalty imposed on the appellant. The Revenue had initially filed an appeal before the High Court, which was later withdrawn to file an application under Section 129B of the Customs Act, 1962. The Revenue argued that the Tribunal did not consider various grounds raised by them and wrongly concluded there was no evidence against the appellant. The Revenue sought to recall the Final Order and uphold the Order-in-Original passed by the Commissioner of Customs, Mangalore. However, the counsel for the respondent/assessee contended that there was no error in the Tribunal's order, as it was detailed and considered all grounds raised by the Revenue and their defense.

The Tribunal, after hearing both sides and examining the records, found that the appeal of the appellant had been allowed in a detailed order. The Revenue failed to identify any specific error in the Tribunal's order that required correction. It was noted that the grounds raised in the application were the same as those presented before the High Court when the appeal was withdrawn. The Tribunal concluded that the matter had been decided on merits after considering submissions from both parties, and no error was apparent on the face of the record. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's application for rectification of mistake regarding the penalty imposition.

The judgment was pronounced in Open Court on 13/11/2018 by the members of the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT Bangalore, Mr. S.S. Garg (Judicial Member) and Mr. C.J. Mathew (Technical Member). The dismissal of the Revenue's application signifies the Tribunal's decision to uphold its previous order setting aside the penalty imposed on the appellant, thereby concluding the legal proceedings in this matter.