Appeal to High Court [Section 130]:
An appeal shall lie to the High Court from every order passed in appeal by the Appellate (not being an order relating, among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of customs or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment), if the High Court is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law [sub-section (1)].
The Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs or the other party aggrieved by any order passed by the Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court and such appeal under this sub-section shall be-
(a) filed within one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the order appealed against is received by the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs or the other party;
(b) accompanied by a fee of two hundred rupees where such appeal is filed by the other party;
(c) in the form of a memorandum of appeal precisely stating therein the substantial question of law involved [sub-section (2)].
The High Court has power to condone the delay and admit an appeal after the expiry o f the period of 180 days referred to in sub-section (2), if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing the same within that period [sub-section (2A)].
Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved in any case, it shall formulate that question [sub-section (3)].
The appeal shall be heard only on the question so formulated, and the respondents shall, at the hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue that the case does not involve such question . However, nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to take away or abridge the power of the Court to hear, for reasons to be recorded, the appeal on any other substantial question of law not formulated by it, if it is satisfied that the case involves such question [sub-section (4)].
The High Court shall decide the question of law so formulated and deliver such judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is founded and may award such cost as it deems fit [sub-section (5)].
The High Court may determine any issue which –
(a) has not been determined by the Appellate Tribunal; or
(b) has been wrongly determined by the Appellate Tribunal, by reason of a decision on any question of law [sub-section (6)].
When an appeal has been filed before the High Court, it shall be heard by a bench of not less than two Judges of the High Court, and shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of such Judges or of the majority, if any, of such Judges [sub-section (7)].
Where there is no such majority, the Judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ and the case shall, then, be heard upon that point only by one or more of the other Judges of the High Court and such point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the Judges who have heard the case including those who first heard it [sub-section (8)].
The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, relating to appeals to the High Court shall, as far as may be, apply in the case of appeals under this section [sub-section (9)].