129DPowers 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 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.]