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TMI Blog2001 (4) TMI 106X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Court was moved in Customs Act Case No. 1 of 1996. By order dated 2nd September, 1996, it was observed that out of the four questions proposed, no question of law was involved, as regards three of them. So far as residual one is concerned, it was held that the same was a new question which cannot be raised for the first time. Thereafter an application was filed under Section 129B(2) of the Act before the Tribunal seeking rectification of certain purported mistakes in the order of the Tribunal. By impugned order, Tribunal held that there was no mistake apparent from the record which required rectification. 2.In support of the application, it has been submitted that the Tribunal went wrong in analysing the factual position and also did no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r. The case law cited by the applicants are distinguishable as the facts of the cases are different. We also find that this Tribunal in the case of Padigal Sriramula [1995 (77) E.L.T. 348] held that presumption under Section 123 of the Customs Act is not applicable when the seizure made not by the customs officer but by the Police. In the instant case foreign origin of the confiscated goods was indicated by Naveen Sahni in his statement. Some documents were produced subsequently which did not confirmed the identity of the confiscated goods. Sh. Batra in his statement also stated that the goods were not the same as they were supplied by him. Thus it was appreciation of evidence as a whole which led to the final conclusion as indicated in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t is an error; a fault, a misunderstanding, a misconception. "Apparent" means visible; capable of being seen; easily seen; obvious; plain. A mistake which can be rectified under Section 129B(2) is one which is patent, which is obvious and whose discovery is not dependent on argument or elaboration. The language used in the provision makes it clear that only amendment to the order passed under Section 129B(1) is permissible where it is brought to the notice of the Tribunal that there is a mistake apparent from the record. In our view amendment of an order does not mean obliteration of the order originally passed and its substitution by a new order. What the petitioner intends to do in the present case is precisely the substitution of the ord ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rit petition on the basis of "an error apparent on the face of the record" (see T.S. Balaram, ITO v. Volkart Brothers [(1971) 82 ITR 50 (SC)]. Mistake is an ordinary word, but in taxation laws, it has a specific and special significance. It is not an arithmetical or clerical error alone that comes within its purview. It comprehends errors which, after a judicious probe into the record from which it is supposed to emanate, are discerned. The word "mistake" is inherently indefinite in scope, as what may be a mistake for one may not be one for another. It is mostly subjective and the dividing line in border areas is thin and indiscernible. It is something which a duly and judiciously instructed mind can find out from the record. In order to at ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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