Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Delhi
Basant Lal Raghubir Prasad vs Collector Of Cental Excise on 28 February, 1990
Equivalent citations: 1990(28)ECR504(TRI.-DELHI)
ORDER Jyoti Balasundaram, Member (J)
1. The above reference application arises out of Order No. 163/87-D dated 27.2.1987, passed by (his Tribunal, dismissing the appeal E/A.No. 932/81-D filed by the appellants (the applicants herein).
2. The background of the case is as follows:
By order dated 21.5.1981, the Collector of Central Excise, levied duty on branded and unbranded chewing tobacco cleared without payment of duty and confiscated seized tobacco with an option to redeem the same on payment of a fine, and imposed a penalty. The appeal against this order was dismissed by the Central Board of Excise & Customs on 31.8.1981 The applicants preferred a revision petition to the Central Government which was transferred to this Tribunal and treated as a deemed appeal. By order dated 27.2.1987, the Tribunal upheld the order of the Collector and dismissed the appeal. Subsequently the applicants approached the Allahabad High Court contending that the Tribunal had not referred to their submissions on the question of non-observance of the principles of natural justice by the Collector. The High Court observed that the applicants should make an application before the Tribunal inviting its attention to this aspect of the matter and the Tribunal may, after considering the submissions on behalf of the appellants and the Revenue, record a clear conclusion on the same and that the writ petition shall then be heard by the High Court for admission.
3. The applicants filed Miscellaneous Application No. 249/87-D in pursuance of the High Court direction, and after hearing both sides, the application was dismissed on 14.8.1987, holding that the grievance of absence of opportunity before the Collector in adjudicating proceedings was not made out. The writ petitions, Civil Misc. Writ Petition 369 of 1987 and Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 1521 of 1989 filed by the applicants were dismissed as withdrawn, on 12.2.1989 and 11.12.1989 respectively. The applicants have now filed the above reference application for drawing up a statement of the case to the High Court on questions of law.
4. The reference application is purported to be filed under Section 35-G of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, which reads as follows:
35-G. Statement of case to High Court-(1) The Collector of Central Excise or the other party may, within sixty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of an order under Section 35-C (not being an order relating, among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of excise or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment by application in the prescribed form, accompanied, where the application is made by the other party, by a fee of two hundred rupees, require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order, and subject to the other provisions contained in this section the Appellate Tribunal shall, within one hundred and twenty days of the receipt of such application, draw up a statement of the case and refer it to the High Court:
In the instant case, the order under Section 35C relates to the determination of a question having a relation to the rate of duty of excise. Therefore, it is not an order against which the Tribunal can be required to refer any question of law arising there from, to the High Court. The application is not maintainable.
5. As a result, E/Ref.No. 36/89-D is dismissed as not maintainable.