Who is Appellate Authority For Order passed by DC of Customs in SEZ?
BOARD has received references from field formations seeking clarification regarding the jurisdiction of Commissioner (Appeals) in respect of orders passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs posted in SEZ as Specified Officer.
The Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs, Vadodara and the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Ahmedabad have taken the view that in terms of Notification No. 16/2002-Cus. (N.T.) dated 7.3.2002, the Commissioner (Appeals) has jurisdiction only in relation to an order passed by an officer subordinate to the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs and therefore, since the Deputy Commissioner of Customs working as Specified Officer in SEZ is under the administrative control of Development Commissioner, any appeal filed with Commissioner (Appeals) against an order passed by the Specified Officer of an SEZ, cannot be entertained.
However, it is seen that the scope of Section 128 of the Customs Act is wider in as much as it refers to any decision or order passed by an officer lower in rank than Commissioner (and not subordinate to Jurisdictional Commissioner) and thus the Specified Officer being AC/DC of Customs are lower in rank to that of Commissioner and hence there should be no bar to Commissioner (Appeals) deciding such appeals. BOARD DOES NOT KNOW THE ANSWER.
So, it wants to know the views of the Chief Commissioners and the practice being followed in their jurisdiction.