Regarding appeal to the Supreme Court by the assessee - Need for timely
filing of counter affidavits and briefing of panel advocates - Instructions
Circular
No. 550 dated 18th September 2000
Please
refer to Board's circular No. 519/15/2000-CX dated 03/03/2000 issued from F.No.
390/31/2000-JC vide which Commissioners were directed to forward comments on
appeals filed by assessees in a prescribed proforma. Despite issue of aforesaid
circular, there is no appreciable improvement in forwarding of relevant papers
to the Board after receipt of the same in Commissionerate. The Commissioners
should be aware that the Central Board of Excise & Customs or the Central
Agency Section of the Ministry of Law are not the respondent in the appeals
filed by the assessees and it is the Commissioners alone to whom the notice of
lodgement of appeal is sent. Hence in the absence of requisite papers it is
impossible to cause appearance in the Court, because no advocate can represent
the Commissioner without being aware of the facts of the case and the
grounds/stand taken by the Department and the assessees thus stand a good chance
of getting stay or a favourable order from the court. To avoid this,
Commissioners should ensure that the Notice regarding filing or lodgement of
appeal received from the Supreme Court Registry and copy of appeal received by
them are sent to Board in duplicate within two weeks of receipt in the
Commissionerate office as stipulated in Board circular cited supra.
2.
The following instructions should also be scrupulously followed with
regard to responding to party's appeals in the Supreme Court:
i)
Now that Supreme Court Cause-List is available on INTERNET on the site
"http://Supremecourtofindia.nic.in" or "http://causelists.nic.in"
the respective Commissioners may personally monitor the cases which are likely
to be listed in the Court for hearing and keep abreast with cases pertaining to
their Commissionerates coming up before the Court.
ii)
In case they have received the notice but have not taken action to
forward copy of the appeal paper book and parawise comments in duplicate to the
Board or if they have not received the notice of Lodgement of petition of appeal
and civil appeal copy from the Supreme Court registry, they should depute a well
conversant officer with all relevant records to report to the Under Secretary,
Judicial Cell of CBEC, who can be contacted at Telephone No. 3014182 in Room No.
227-B of North Block, New Delhi. Under Secretary (JC) will help the officer in
contacting the official/advocate concerned. From CBEC, that officer can go to
the Central Agency Section of the Law Ministry so that counter affidavit can be
prepared/filed and the Panel Advocate suitably briefed, or it can be brought to
the Court's notice has not been received.
iii)
In those cases where Notice of Lodgement of Appeal has been received well
in time (say within ten days of dispatch from registry), all the papers
(together and not in bits and pieces) be sent within ten days of receipt of the
same to Ministry by name to Joint Secretary (Review) or Under Secretary
(Judicial Cell) so that necessary steps could be taken for filing counter
affidavits in time.
3.
All Chief Commissioners/Commissioners may note that we now have a Special
Monitoring Cell headed by an Additional Director of the rank of Addl.
Commissioner for appropriate liaison and follow up of C.B.E.C. cases in the
Supreme Court. The said Cell is housed in a flat on the ground floor of V. K.
Krishna Menon Bhawan, 9, Bhagwan Das Marg, New Delhi-110001 and that building is
opposite Supreme Court Complex. In case the officers coming to Delhi have any
problem in contacting the Panel Advocates at the Central Agency Section they may
take the help of the officers in the Monitoring Cell who can be contacted on
Telephone No. 3381630, 3381825, FAX 3389524.
Receipt
of this circular may be acknowledged.
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