Appeal to Tribunal - New appeal forms for Customs, Excise & Service Tax
THE Central government has deftly amended the appeal rules pertaining to appeals filed before CESTAT in Customs, Excise & Service Tax matters.
All the forms now in use viz. CA-3, CA-4, CA-5, EA-3, EA-4, EA-5, ST-5, ST-6 & ST-7 have gone in for a makeover and would be substituted with new ones from 1 st June, 2013.
The noticeable aspect in all these forms is that if it is an appeal filed in a Customs matter, the appellant is required to also mention whether he is a Central Excise/Service Tax assessee and the registration number thereof and also whether the order appealed against involve any Central Excise/service tax demand and related fine or penalty. Similar requirements are warranted in case of appeals filed in Central Excise & Service Tax matters. Another development is that the appellant is required to classify the dispute involved in order of priority viz. in case of a Central Excise appeal as to whether the dispute pertains to classification [indicate chapter] or Valuation [whether related persons issue or others] or SSI exemption or Application of exemption notification [indicate notification number] or CENVAT or Seizure/Clandestine removal or Refund [other than Rebate].
Interestingly, there is also a residual category called “Others” in all the various formats seeking the above dispute classification. Surprisingly, even in the departmental appeal filed, the department is required to accord priority to the issue after classifying the same.