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2022 (3) TMI 760 - SC - CustomsMaintainability of appeal before the High Court - appropriate forum - Claiming exemption from duty of customs on foreign going going vessel - Whether against the order passed by the CESTAT impugned before the High Court the appeal would be maintainable before the High Court under Section 130(1) of the Act or the appeal before this Court would be maintainable under Section 130E(b) of the Act? - HELD THAT:- Similar question had arisen before this Court in the case of Commissioner of Customs vs. Motorola (India) Ltd., [2019 (9) TMI 229 - SUPREME COURT]. The question involved in the said case was, whether, the assessee violated the conditions of the exemption notification by not utilising the imported materials for manufacturing of the declared final product and was, therefore, liable for payment of duty, interest and penalty. The High Court held that the appeals before the High Court would not be maintainable but were tenable before this Court under Section 130E of the Act. While setting aside the order passed by the High Court, this Court observed and held that neither any question with respect to determination of rate of duty arises nor a question relating to valuation of the goods for the purposes of assessment arises and the appeals also do not involve determination of any question relating to the classification of goods. By observing so, this Court observed that the High Court was not justified in holding that the appeals were not maintainable under Section 130(1) of the Act but were tenable before the Supreme Court under Section 130E of the Act. In the facts and circumstances of the present case the High Court is right in observing that the principal question in the present case is not in relation to the rate of duty but determining whether vessel AE is a foreign going vessel or not, and if the vessel AE is a foreign going vessel, Section 87 of the Act will be applicable or not. Therefore, with respect to such an issue, against the order passed by the CESTAT, the appeal would be maintainable before the High Court under Section 130 of the Act. The present Special Leave Petition deserves to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed.
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