The Hindu Business Line : Corporates can't bypass jurisdictional zonal benches, says CESTAT

CORPORATES may no longer find it easy to bypass the jurisdictional Zonal Benches and approach the Principal Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in New Delhi in appeal against the orders of the Commissioners of Customs or Central Excise as the case may be.

The CESTAT President, Mr Justice R.K. Abichandani, has now issued an order that requires "cases arising within the jurisdiction of the Zonal Benches of the Tribunal to be filed and heard before the respective Zonal Benches."

Hitherto, administrative orders passed by the Tribunal enabled the filing of the matters falling before any of the Zonal Benches in the Principal Bench, which has jurisdiction all over India.

"Now, those orders are being reversed. This would imply that zonal matters would have to be filed and heard in the respective Zonal Benches and cannot be brought to Delhi from say Mumbai. Till now, cases which could be dealt by Zonal Benches could be filed before the Principal Bench for quicker disposal or relief," a tax expert said.

A number of companies were opting for this route to get their cases heard and disposed quickly. For example, if companies found that a regional Bench had heavy burden of past cases, they would prefer to move the Principal Bench in Delhi to get an early hearing for their cases.

The CESTAT President's recent order has, however, noted that the administrative orders enabling the filing of the matters falling within the jurisdiction of any of the Zonal Benches in the Principal Bench has "not proved to be conducive to efficient administration".

It has been pointed out that often, matters are filed in the Principle Bench at the stage of the interim relief and waiver of deposits and later transfers of such matters are sought to the Zonal Benches in which they ought to have been filed.

CESTAT hears appeals against orders and decisions passed by the commissioners of customs and excise under the Customs Act 1962, Central Excise Act 1944 and the Finance Act 1994 (relating to service tax). The CESTAT is also empowered to hear the appeals against orders passed by the Designated Authority with regard to anti-dumping duties under the Customs Tariff Act 1975.

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