Powers of Committee of Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs or Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs to pass certain orders
Section 129D of the Customs Act, 1962 deals with powers of Committee of Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs or Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs to pass certain orders. 129D. Powers of [Committee of [Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs]] or [Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] Customs] to pass certain orders.--(1) The [Committee of [Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Custom The Act came into force on 01 Feb 1963.
129D. Powers of 1[Committee of 2[Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs]] or 3[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] Customs] to pass certain orders.--(1) The 1[Committee of 2[Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs]] may, of its own motion, call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which a 3[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] as an adjudicating authority has passed any decision or order under this Act for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of any such decision or order and may, by order, direct such 4[Commissioner] 5[or any other Commissioner] to apply to the Appellate Tribunal for the determination of such points arising out of the decision or order as may be specified by the 1[Committee of 2[Principal Chief Commissioners of Customs or Chief Commissioners of Customs]] in its order:
6[Provided that where the Committee of 7[Principal Chief Commissioners of Customs or Chief Commissioner of Customs] differs in its opinion as to the legality or propriety of the decision or order of the 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs], it shall state the point or points on which it differs and make a reference to the Board which, after considering the facts of the decision or order passed by the 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs], if is of the opinion that the decision or order passed by the 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] is not legal or proper, may, by order, direct such Commissioner or any other Commissioner to apply to the Appellate Tribunal for the determination of such points arising out of the decision or order, as may be specified in its order.]
(2) The 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] may, of his own motion, call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which an adjudicating authority subordinate to him has passed any decision or order under this Act for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of any such decision or order and may, by order, direct 9[such authority or any officer of Customs subordinate to him] to apply to the 10[Commissioner (Appeals)] for the determination of such points arising out of the decision or order as may be specified by the 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs] in his order.
11[(3) Every order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), as the case may be, shall be made within a period of three months from the date of communication of the decision or order of the adjudicating authority.]
12[Provided that the Board may, on sufficient cause being shown, extend the said period by another thirty days.]
(4) Where in pursuance of an order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the adjudicating authority or any officer of customs authorised in this behalf by the 8[Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs], makes an application to the Appellate Tribunal or the 10[Commissioner (Appeals)] within a period of 13[one month] from the date of communication of the order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) to the adjudicating authority, such application shall be heard by the Appellate Tribunal or the 10 [Commissioner (Appeals)], as the case may be, as if such application were an appeal made against the decision or order of the adjudicating authority and the provisions of this Act regarding appeals, including the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 129A shall, so far as may be, apply to such application.
14[(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any decision or order in which the determination determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty or to the value of goods for the purposes of assessment of any duty is in issue or is one of the points in issue.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, the determination of a rate or duty in relation to any goods or valuation of any goods for the purposes of assessment of duty includes the determination of a question--
(a) relating to the rate of duty for the time being in force, whether under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) or under any other Central Act providing for the levy and collection of any duty of customs in relation to any goods on or after the 28th day of February, 1986; or
(b) relating to the value of goods for the purposes of assessment of any duty in cases where the assessment is made on or after the 28th day of February, 1986; or
(c) whether any goods fall under a particular heading or sub-heading of the First Schedule or the Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), or that any goods are or not covered by a particular notification or order issued by the Central Government granting total or partial exemption from duty; or
(d) whether the value of any goods for the purposes of assessment of duty shall be enhanced or reduced by the addition or reduction of the amounts in respect of such matters as are specifically provided in this Act.]
Section 129D, 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.
This section refers to
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.
-
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: Power of Committee of Chief Commissioners to call for records and direct Commissioner to apply to Tribunal; contains critical mechanism by which appeal provisions become applicable to administrative applications
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.
-
… The grounds raised by the assessee is that the review itself is time barred and the review is not maintainable as the appeal has not been filed along with the signed order in original dated 21.07.2011, when it is mandatory to examine the original as per the provisions of Section 129D(2) of the Customs Act. It is submitted that the review has been filed along with the unsigned photocopy of the order without any relevant documents. It is further submitted that the order of the learned Single Judge directing the assessee to approach the Tribunal instead of considering the merits of the case and is …
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 129D
What have the courts held on Section 129D of the Customs Act?
Thakker Shipping P. LTD vs Commr. of Customs(general) (30 Oct 2012) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Power of Committee of Chief Commissioners to call for records and direct Commissioner to apply to Tribunal; contains critical mechanism by which appeal provisions become applicable to administrative applications.
How do I find court cases under Section 129D 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 129D, section 129D Customs Act 1962, section 129D of the Customs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Thakker Shipping P. LTD vs Commr. of Customs(general) (30 Oct 2012).
What should I read with Section 129D of the Customs Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 129A (Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. One instrument names it without being made under it, most recently Customs (Appeals) Rules, 1982 (1962).
When did Section 129D of the Customs Act come into force?
Section 129D of the Customs Act, cited as Customs Act 1962 129D, 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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.