Appeals to Commissioner (Appeals) [Section 128]:
Any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act by an officer of Customs lower in rank than a Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs may appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) within sixty days from the date of the communication to him of such decision or order.
Provided that the Commissioner (Appeals) may, if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the aforesaid period of sixty days, allow it to be presented within a further period of thirty days.
Commissioner (Appeals) may, if sufficient cause is shown, at any stage of hearing of an appeal proceeding, grant time, from time to time, to the parties and adjourn the hearing for reasons to be recorded in writing. However, such adjournment shall not be granted f or more than three times to a party during the proceeding.
The appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) is to be filed in Form No.C.A.1. in duplicate and is to be accompanied by a copy of decision or order appealed against. The grounds of appeal and the form of verification as contained in form No.C.A.1 is to be signed by the appellant.
The following are important with respect to this section:
1. The provisions of section 5 of the Limitation Act 1963 will apply only to courts. Therefore, quasi judicial authorities such as Collectors and Tribunals are not required to follow the provisions of that Act for computation of time. Even where the Act provides that the provisions of Limitation Act shall apply, section 5 of that Act will come into play only after computing the time prescribed under that particular statute [Sakuru vs. Tanaju, 1985 (22) ELT 327 (SC)].
2. A person who is not a party to the original proceeding cannot file an appeal. He is not an aggrieved person as none of his legal rights are affected.
3. Additional grounds cannot be raised in appeal as a matter of right, if these grounds had not been raised before the original authority. Although the appellate authority is competent to allow such grounds, it should be established that the additional g rounds are bonafide and could not be raised earlier before the assessing officer.
4. In an appeal, several grounds can be raised including alternative grounds. It is not open to the authority to pick one of the grounds and reach a conclusion. Raising of a ground in the alternative does not mean that the appellants are claiming so. Such grounds are always without prejudice to other grounds. Therefore, it would be improper to pick up one of the grounds to come to the conclusion that that is all along the claim of the appellant [Bombay Chemicals Pvt Ltd vs. UOI 1982 (10) ELT 171 (Bom)].
5. CHA (Custom House Agent) cannot file an appeal on behalf of principal: Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 146 allows right of appeal against an order suspending his own licence. Nowhere this or other provisions allow a CHA to file an appeal in relation to imports or exports of his principal [V.V. Dabke & Sons vs. CC 1983 (12) ELT 583 (T-D)].