Orders of Appellate Tribunal
Section 129B of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with orders of Appellate Tribunal. The Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal, an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or annulling the decision or order appealed against or may refer the case back to the authority which passed such decision or order with The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
(1) The Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal, an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or annulling the decision or order appealed against or may refer the case back to the authority which passed such decision or order with such directions as the Appellate Tribunal may think fit, for a fresh adjudication or decision, as the case may be, after taking additional evidence, if necessary.
2[(1A) The Appellate Tribunal may, if sufficient cause is shown, at any stage of hearing of an appeal, grant time to the parties or any of them and adjourn the hearing of the appeal for reasons to be recorded in writing:
Provided that no such adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during hearing of the appeal.]
(2) The Appellate Tribunal may, at any time within 3[six months] from the date of the order, with a view to rectifying any mistake apparent from the record, amend any order passed by it under sub-section (1) and shall make such amendments if the mistake is brought to its notice by the 1[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] or the other party to the appeal:
Provided that an amendment which has the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund or otherwise increasing the liability of the other party shall not be made under this sub-section, unless the Appellate Tribunal has given notice to him of its intention to do so and has allowed him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
4[(2A) The Appellate Tribunal shall, where it is possible to do so, hear and decide every appeal within within a period of three years from the date on which such appeal is filed:
5* * * * *]
(3) The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order passed under this section to the 1[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] and the other party to the appeal.
(4) Save as otherwise provided in section 130 or section 130E, orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal on appeal shall be final.
Section 129B, The Customs Act, 1962 (Act 52 of 1962).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Commr. of Customs vs K. M. Ganatra & CO
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a Customs House Agent has committed serious violations involving subletting of licence to unauthorized persons for fraudulent export documentation causing financial loss to revenue, and such misconduct reflects a chain of acts rather than an isolated incident, the Tribunal's discretion to modify the Commissioner's order of permanent revocation to a temporary period is inappropriate and an abuse of discretion. The CHA occupies a position of critical trust in customs procedures, and strict compliance with licensing regulations must be maintained. Permanent revocation is the appropriate punishment for such serious misconduct.
On this section: Powers of Appellate Tribunal to confirm, modify, or annul orders appealed against; the Court held that while the Tribunal has power to modify, it must exercise this power in accordance with law and the factual matrix
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Thakker Shipping P. LTD vs Commr. of Customs(general)
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The Appellate Tribunal possesses the competence to invoke Section 129A(5) of the Customs Act, 1962 to condone delays in making applications under Section 129D(4) of the Act, provided the Tribunal is satisfied that there existed sufficient cause for non-presentation of the application within the prescribed period. This competence arises from the explicit language of Section 129D(4) which provides that applications made by the Commissioner shall be heard as if they were appeals against adjudicating authority orders and that the provisions of the Act regarding appeals, so far as they may be applicable, shall apply to such applications. Consequently, Section 129A(5) stands incorporated into Section 129D(4) by way of legal fiction, and the Tribunal must give effect to this incorporation.
On this section: Tribunal's power to set aside orders; referenced in Committee's direction to Commissioner regarding scope of Tribunal determination
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Sunitidevi Singhania Hospital Trust vs Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a tribunal fails to consider contentions raised before it by a party and such contentions are raised within a reasonable time in an application for reconsideration, the limitation period specified in the relevant statute does not bar the tribunal from reconsidering the matter on merit, as principles of natural justice and the inherent power of the tribunal to correct errors in not addressing contentions override statutory limitation provisions. A tribunal must address all contentions raised before it to ensure justice, and when brought to its notice that contentions were not considered, it is the appropriate authority to consider those contentions, provided the application is filed within reasonable time and shows prima facie correct contentions.
On this section: Limitation period for applications before tribunal; Court held this does not apply to bar consideration of contentions raised but not addressed in original order; inherent power of tribunal overrides this limitation when natural justice requires reconsideration
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Bhavya Apparels Pvt. Ltd. vs U. O. I.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 129E of the Customs Act, which mandates pre-deposit of duty and interest in appeals, applies only when goods are not under the control of the customs authorities. Where goods are in the custody of the Revenue, the Appellate Tribunal must consider this limitation on its jurisdiction and examine whether the condition of pre-deposit would cause undue hardship to the appellant before imposing such deposit. The exercise of discretion under the proviso to Section 129E must be done with due application of mind to statutory conditions and relevant factual circumstances. Automatic dismissal for non-compliance with pre-deposit orders is not mandated where the order itself was passed without proper consideration of the jurisdictional ingredients and hardship provisions of the statute.
On this section: Three-year period for disposal of appeals; cited as procedural safeguard
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… The appellant raises the following substantial questions of law: > "(a) Whether, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal below was justified in dismissing the application filed by the appellant under section 129B of the Customs Act, 1962 read with R.20 of the CESTAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982 for rectification of the mistake apparent on the record by recalling or setting aside Final Order No.21545/2015 dated 13.07.2015 and amending/modifying the Stay Order No.20868 dated 30.04.2015 to grant full and unconditional stay of …
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… It is to be noticed herein that the appellant herein fairly states that it is not the case of the appellant that the Commissioner of Customs has jurisdiction. If we accept their plea that Section 129B of the Customs Act should be given effect to in that manner, it should be remanded to the very same authority, who passed the original order. If that be the case, the issue that arises for consideration on the various substantial questions of law raised is that whether the remand order by the Tribunal to the …
Questions about Section 129B
What have the courts held on Section 129B of the Customs Act?
Commr. of Customs vs K. M. Ganatra & CO (14 Jan 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Powers of Appellate Tribunal to confirm, modify, or annul orders appealed against; the Court held that while the Tribunal has power to modify, it must exercise this power in accordance with law and the factual matrix. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2007 to 2016.
How do I find court cases under Section 129B of the Customs Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Customs Act 1962 129B, section 129B Customs Act 1962, section 129B of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Commr. of Customs vs K. M. Ganatra & CO (14 Jan 2016).
What should I read with Section 129B of the Customs Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 130 (Appeal to High Court), section 130E (Appeal to Supreme Court), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 129B of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 129B of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 129B, came into force on 01 Feb 1963, having been enacted on 13 Dec 1962. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 28. Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded2145 words
- 2. Definitions1638 words
- 129A. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal1170 words
- 27. Claim for refund of duty1060 words
- 127C. Procedure on receipt of an application under section 127B1056 words
- 138C. Admissibility of micro films, facsimile copies of documents and computer print outs as documents and as evidence872 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 17 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.