Customs Act, 1962 › Chapter XV — Appeals and Revision

Section 128A. Procedure in appeal

Customs Act, 1962

Bare Act

Procedure in appeal. —

(1) The Commissioner (Appeals) shall give anopportunity to the appellant to be heard if he so desires.

(2) The Commissioner (Appeals) may, atthe hearing of an appeal, allow the appellant to go into any ground of appealnot specified in the grounds of appeal, if the Commissioner (Appeals) is satisfied that the omissionof that ground from the grounds of appeal was not wilful or unreasonable.

(3) The Commissioner (Appeals) shall,after making such further inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order, as hethinks just and proper,-

(a) confirming, modifying or annulling the decision or order appealed against;or

(b) referring the matter back to the adjudicating authority with directions forfresh adjudication or decision, as the case may be, in the following cases,namely:-

(i) where an order or decision has been passed without following the principlesof natural justice; or

(ii) where no order or decision has been passed after re-assessment under section17; or

(iii) where an order of refund under section 27 has been issued by creditingthe amount to Fund without recording any finding on the evidence produced bythe applicant.:

Provided that an order enhancing any penalty or fine in lieu of confiscation orconfiscating goods of greater value or reducing the amount of refund shall notbe passed unless the appellant has been given a reasonable opportunity ofshowing cause against the proposed order:

Provided further that where the Commissioner(Appeals) is of opinion that any duty has not been levied or has beenshort-levied or erroneously refunded, no order requiring the appellant to payany duty not levied, short-levied or erroneously refunded shall be passedunless the appellant is given notice within the time-limit specified in section28 to show cause against the proposed order.

(4) The order of the Commissioner(Appeals) disposing of the appeal shall be in writing and shall state thepoints for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for thedecision.

(4A) The Commissioner (Appeals) shall, where it ispossible to do so, hear and decide every appeal within a period of six monthsfrom the date on which it is filed.

(5) On the disposal of the appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) shall communicate the orderpassed by him to the appellant, the adjudicating authority, the Principal ChiefCommissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs and the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner ofCustoms.

Judgments on Section 128A

  • M/S Ascent Circuits Pvt Ltd vs Bangalore Customs — CESTAT, 4 Sep 2026. Goods that are merely 'restricted' (not prohibited) under the Foreign Trade Policy cannot be absolutely confiscated absent specific recorded reasons, since Section 125 confers a discretion to allow redemption on fine…
  • Rabindra Chandra Paul vs Commr. Of Customs (Preventive)… — Supreme Court of India, 27 Feb 2007. Where the Department fails to establish any Rule 4(2) circumstance, the transaction value declared by the importer cannot be rejected, discounts uniformly available on commercial considerations cannot be denied under…
  • Rungta Mines Ltd vs Visakhapatnam-Cus — CESTAT, 3 Sep 2026. A legal ground based on facts already on record is not 'additional evidence' under Rule 5 of the Customs (Appeals) Rules, 1982, there can be no estoppel against the correct application of a statutory provision, and the…
  • Aegis Logistics Ltd vs -Kolkata(Port) — CESTAT, 11 Jun 2026
  • Shri.K.Ananthapadmanabha Rao vs The Commissioner Of Central Taxes — Karnataka High Court, 27 Apr 2026. An order of dismissal passed without granting a specifically requested personal hearing—despite pending parallel criminal discharge and customs appellate proceedings—violates the principles of natural justice, and such…
  • Kolkata(Port) vs Shriram Warehousing Pvt Ltd — CESTAT, 16 Apr 2025. Under Section 150(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, sale proceeds must be applied in the statutory order of priority—first to expenses of sale, next to freight and other charges payable to the carrier under Section…
  • Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd vs Commissioner, Customs-New Delhi — CESTAT, 17 Mar 2025. A Chartered Accountant's certificate, consistent with the financial statements showing the duty as receivable, cannot be lightly brushed aside without cogent evidence from Revenue that the certificate is incorrect or…
  • Shri Biplab Karmakar vs -Kolkata(Prev) — CESTAT, 28 Feb 2025. An Order-in-Appeal passed beyond the six-month period under Section 128A(4A) without a plausible explanation for the delay must be set aside, and the burden of proving that gold seized deep inside Indian territory is…
  • M/S. Bihar Foundry & Castings Ltd vs Union Of India Through The Secretary — Jharkhand High Court, 4 Mar 2024. After the omission of 'where it is possible to do so' w.e.f. 29-03-2018, the six-month adjudication limit in Section 28(9)(a) for Section 28(1) demands is mandatory, and breach of that limit or of the mandatory…
  • Flemingo Travel Retail Ltd vs Commissioner Of Cgst & Central… — CESTAT, 10 Feb 2022. Duty free shops situated beyond the immigration/customs channel at international airports are beyond the customs frontiers of India and constitute non-taxable territory, so tax collected thereon without authority in the…
  • Sanjay Danchand Ghodawat vs Additional Commissioner Of Customs… — Calcutta High Court, 21 Sep 2017. Where a revenue statute like the Customs Act constitutes a complete code and provides an efficacious special remedy such as the Section 128 appeal, the writ court will not normally entertain an Article 226 petition…