Customs Act, 1962 › Chapter XIVA — Settlement of Cases
Section 127A. Definitions
Customs Act, 1962
Bare Act
Definitions. — In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires. —
(a)"Bench" means a Bench of the Settlement Commission; 1 (b) "case" means any proceeding under this Act or any other Act for the levy, assessment and collection of customs duty, pending before an adjudicating authority on the date on which an application under sub-section (1) of section 127B is made:
Provided that when any proceeding is referred back 2[Omitted] by any court, Appellate Tribunal or any other authority, to the adjudicating authority for a fresh adjudication or decision, as the case may be, then such proceeding shall not be deemed to be a proceeding pending within the meaning of this clause;
(c)"Chairman" means the Chairman of the Settlement Commission;
(d)"Commissioner (Investigation)" means an officer of the customs or a Central Excise Officer appointed as such Commissioner to conduct inquiry or investigation for the purposes of this Chapter;
(da) “Interim Board” means the Interim Board for Settlement constituted under section 31A of the Central Excise Act, 1944;
(e)"Member" means a Member of the Settlement Commission and includes the Chairman and the Vice Chairman;
(ea) “pending application” means an application filed under section 127B before the 1st day of April, 2025 and fulfils the following conditions, namely:––
(i) it has been allowed under section 127C; and
(ii) no order under sub-section (5) of section 127C was issued on or before the 31st day of March, 2025 with respect to such application;
(f)"Settlement Commission" means the 3 Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax Settlement Commission constituted under section 32 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944); and
(g)"Vice-Chairman" means a Vice-Chairman of the Settlement Commission.
Judgments on Section 127A
- Union Of India (Uoi) Through The… vs Hoganas India Ltd. And Ors. [Alongwith… — Bombay High Court, 21 Jul 2005. The Settlement Commission under Chapter XIV-A has a very wide jurisdiction to entertain all kinds of settlement applications under Section 127B — including cases involving fraud or mis-declaration — provided the…
- Anil Kapoor vs Niranjan Subudhi — Delhi High Court, 28 Jun 2025. The Settlement Commission constituted under the Customs Act, 1962 can grant immunity only from prosecution and penalty under the Customs Act in cases involving the levy, assessment and collection of customs duty, and…
- M/S.Usha International Ltd vs Customs & Central Excise Settlement Commission Additional Bench — Madras High Court, 30 Oct 2019. A settlement application under Section 127B cannot be rejected as non-maintainable without a reasonable opportunity of hearing, and prima facie the second proviso to Section 127B(1) bars only applications where…
- 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…
- Rexnord Electronics And Controls Ltd vs Union Of India And Others — Supreme Court of India, 4 Mar 2008. The Settlement Commission's power under Section 127H to grant immunity from interest relates only to interest payable under the Customs Act (such as under Section 28AA) and does not extend to interest payable under a…
- Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd. vs Union Of India (Uoi) — Bombay High Court, 21 Jul 2005. The Settlement Commission under Chapter XIV-A can entertain all kinds of settlement applications — including those involving fraud or mis-declaration — provided the mandatory conditions of Section 127B(1) are met (bill…
- Mahendra Petrochemicals Ltd. vs Union Of India (Uoi) Thro' Secretary — Gujarat High Court, 13 Jan 2004
- Pratibha Syntext Ltd. vs Union Of India (Uoi) — Bombay High Court, 28 Jul 2003. Where an importer breaches both the advance licence and the duty-exemption notification, the executed bond making him liable to pay duty with interest empowers the Settlement Commission to order recovery of duty with…
- Commr. Of Cus. (Air), Chennai vs Cus. & C. Ex. Settlement Commission — Madras High Court, 18 Oct 2001. An application under Section 127B lies only in respect of 'a case' under Section 127A(b) — proceedings for the levy, assessment and collection of customs duty — and not for cases of mis-declaration or smuggling detected…