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2022 (6) TMI 1090 - AT - CustomsDelay in filing of appeal before Commissioner (Appeal) - Period of limitation for date of assessment of Bill of entry - to tbe counted from the date of communication of order or from the date of upload on the website - rejection of appeal on the ground that the same is hit by period of limitation prescribed under Section 128 of the Customs Act - HELD THAT:- The provisions of Section 128 of the Customs Act, would clearly indicate that limitation would be counted from the date of communication to him (person aggrieved) of such decision or order. Secondly, the ratio of the referred judgment also indicates that order of assessment/re-assessment is an appealable order - Reliance can be placed in the case of ITC LIMITED VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, KOLKATA -IV [2019 (9) TMI 802 - SUPREME COURT] - This being the facts on record and the provision of law, the service of copy of the order on dated 12.01.2018 is supposed to be taken as the date of communication of the order, in which event the delay was only of 18 days concerning which satisfactory explanation in the delay condonation petition was afford by the Appellant as has been noted by the Commissioner (Appeals) in para 7 of his order i.e. Order-in-Appeal under challenge. Additionally the order passed by the First Appellate Authority under RTI Act, 2005 on dated 22.10.2021, being taken as additional piece of evidence since in the nature of public documents, clearly reveal that date of communication of order was 12.01.2018 and the Respondent- Department had never been in the practice of issuing copy of finally/provisionally assessed bill of entry to anyone, as the same has been uploaded in their website link (para 4 of the order of the appellate authority). This being the facts on record, it is opined that communication of the decision/order was made on 12.01.2018 and the date of uploading in the link provided by the Respondent- Department, cannot be taken as date of communication of the order besides the fact that dispute concerning non-availability of the order in the said link is also noticeable in the RTI order dated 22.10.2021. Moreover, no Court would presume such a document uploaded in the website as genuine unless it is a public document containing seal and signature of the public authority or its certified copy that would meet the requirement of Section 79 of the Indian Evidence Act. It is considered appropriate to allow the appeal and the matter remanded back to the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Mumbai-I to pass an order in conformity to the dictate of Section 128A(4) of the Customs Act - appeal allowed by way of remand.
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