By TIOL News Service

MUMBAI, MAY 18, 2017: THE  Commissioner of Customs (Export), Mumbai had filed a Miscellaneous Application seeking rectification of mistake in the interim order dated 10th August 2015 passed by the Tribunal wherein stay was granted from recovery of amounts(of drawback disbursed and penalties imposed) from the appellant.

Thoroughly peeved with the submissions made by the AR at the time of hearing and the contents of the application, the Member (Technical) writing for the Bench, while imposing costs, observed thus -

+ Our courts and tribunals are overworked owing to manifold causes and not the least of which is the apathetic abdication of responsibility by senior levels of the tax administration in the resort to litigation. Escalating the workload without justifiable cause, or even by patent ignorance, must be checked.

The Member (Judicial) writing for the Division Bench (the Member(T) is the same) in a succinct order held thus -

"Judiciary and Executive are expected to act within their own jurisdiction to do public good without encroaching each others jurisdiction. Good justice delivery system gains public confidence when it is self disciplined. Tribunal has limited power of Civil Court under Section 129C(8) of Customs Act, 1962 without any statutory power to impose cost on a quasi judicial Authority of tax administration. Tribunal being a creature of the statute, it should restrain itself from embarrassing Executives who are expected to act on good faith. It may be stated that judiciary is highly respected because it has power of excusing the deserved."

Resultantly, all the miscellaneous applications were allowed and the cost imposed on the Commissioner was waived.

(See 2017-TIOL-1658-CESTAT-MUM)