Appellate remedies - CBEC's Customs Manual 2025 - Customs

11. Appellate remedies: 11.1 Any concerned person aggrieved with the departmental adjudication is given the right to appeal against the said order. The first level of appeal is to Commissioner (Appeal) and thereafter to an independent Tribunal (CESTAT) unless the adjudication order is originally passed by the Commissioner of Customs in which case the first level of appeal is to the CESTAT. On questions of law, the orders of CESTAT could also be considered for reference to the High Court and certain categories of decisions involving classification or valuation can be appealed even before the Supreme Court. In a case where the High court on its own motion or on an oral application made by the aggrieved party, immediately after passing of the judgment, certifies the case to be fit for appeal to the Supreme Court, a Civil Appeal is filed against the High Court order under Sec. 35L of the Act for which limitation is 60 days from the date of the order (and not the date of receipt of order). However, in most of the cases no such application is made by the aggrieved party before the High Court and therefore, in such cases, if aggrieved party intends to agitate the order / judgment of the High Court before the 6 Supreme Court, then it can be done by way of filing a Special Leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution. The limitation for filing of SLP is 90 days from the date of the High Court s order.