Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article is part of a series on
Judiciary of India
Law of India
Administration Ministry of Law and Justice Department of Legal Affairs Legislative Department Department of Justice Law Commission of India
Civil courts Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India Judges of the supreme court High courts of India Chief justices of high courts Judges of high courts District courts of India Courts of subordinate judges District munsiff courts
Criminal courts Supreme Court of India Chief Justice of India Judges of the supreme court High courts of India Chief justices of high courts Judges of high courts Sessions courts Courts of chief judicial magistrate Courts of judicial magistrate of first class Courts of judicial magistrate of second class
Executive magistrates Divisional commissioners District magistrates Sub-divisional magistrates
Legal profession Bar Council of India Attorney General of India Solicitor General of India Additional solicitors general Advocates general
Legal education Legal education in India Autonomous law schools in India List of law schools in India
Others Alternative dispute resolution Lok Adalat Village courts Tribunals in India National green tribunal of India National company law tribunal Armed forces tribunal of India Constitution of India Basic structure Directive principles Fundamental duties Fundamental rights Judicial review Indian Penal Code Civil Procedure Code Criminal Procedure Code Judicial activism in India National Judicial Appointments Commission Supreme Court Collegium
v t e

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) is an Indian quasi-judicial body that hears appeals against orders and decisions passed under the Customs Act, 1962 and Central Excise Act, 1944 as amended from time to time. It was constituted as Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) under section 129 of Customs Act, 1962, as amended by section 50 and the Fifth Schedule of Finance (No. 2) Act, 1980. These amendments became effective from 11 October 1982 and the Tribunal was also constituted on the same date. Its initial mandate was under Customs Act, 1962, Central Excise Act, 1944 and Gold (Control) Act, 1968. Service tax was introduced by Chapter V of Finance Act, 1994 and this also was added to the jurisdiction of CEGAT. Accordingly, the name of the Tribunal was changed to Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) by amending section 129 of the Customs Act, by section 119 of Finance Act, 2003, effective from 14 May 2003.

The Tribunal also has appellate jurisdiction in Anti Dumping matters and the Special Bench headed by the President, CESTAT, hears appeals against the orders passed by the Designated Authority in the Ministry of Commerce.

According to Section 86, any assessment order passed by Commissioner of Central Excise under section 73 or Section 83A or orders of revision by Commissioner of Central Excise under Section 84 or orders of the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) under Section 85 are appealable before the Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) by any of the aggrieved parties i.e., assessee, Commissioner of Central Excise or the Board.

The Government had a law enacted in 1986, to create a Tribunal empowered like a High Court, called Customs and Excise Revenues Appellate Tribunal. Most powers of CESTAT were to be diverted to CERAT. This Act was not operationalised due to multiple difficulties including court cases, making an amendment necessary. This Act was later repealed by Customs and Central Excise Laws (Repeal) Act, 2004.

Powers of tribunal under The Customs Act, 1962.

CESTAT functions with the following limitations, as it cannot:

• Grant compensation owing to unlawful action of revenue authorities.
• Review its own order (as any quasi-judicial authority cannot review its own order).
• Exercise powers beyond statute (as it is a creature of statute only).
• Issue writs or grant relief which ought to be granted by high court.
• Comment on legitimacy of statute. Must presume legal validity of the provisions of Act and Rules.
• Punish for its own contempt (must forward it to high court for its consideration).
• Act as a court (as it is a tribunal and cannot be equated to a court. Members of tribunal are not judges and their decisions are orders, not judgments).
• Overrule any high court judgement (as it is bound by judgements of high courts and Supreme Court).

References

1. Section 129 of Customs Act, 1962, from India Code
2. Text of Central Acts, 1980, page 279, from the site of the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, India
3. G.S.R. 597(E) dated 11 October 1982, The Gazette of India
4. G.S.R. 595(E) dated 11 October 1982, The Gazette of India
5. Finance Act, 1994, from the site of the Bombay High Court, see page 207
6. Finance Act, 2003, The Gazette of India, see page 50
7. Customs and Excise Revenues Appellate Tribunal Act, 1986, The Gazette of India
8. Seventeenth Report of the Estimates Committee, 10th Lok Sabha, see pp. 66-68
9. Customs and Central Excise Laws (Repeal) Act, 2004, The Gazette of India, see the Schedule

External links

• Official website of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal

• Central Civil Services (India)
• Government agencies of India
• Ministry of Finance (India)
• Custom and excise duties in India
• Indian tribunals
• 1962 establishments in India