Purple Products Private Limited Vs Commissioner (CESTAT Allahabad)
The appeal before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad arose from Order-in-Appeal No. NOI-CUSTM-000-APP-01-25-26 dated 16 April 2025 passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), CGST & Central Excise, Noida. By that order, the Commissioner (Appeals) had dismissed the assessee’s appeal against Order-in-Original No. 05/DC-Gr.IV/Noida Customs/2020-21 dated 6 July 2020 on the ground of limitation, without examining the merits, for failure to comply with Section 128(1) of the Customs Act, 1962.
When the matter came up before the Tribunal, none appeared for the appellant despite notice, and no adjournment request was received prior to hearing. Considering that the issue was limited in scope, the Tribunal proceeded to decide the appeal on the basis of the record and after hearing the authorised representative for the Revenue.
The Tribunal examined the impugned order and noted that the Commissioner (Appeals) had confined his decision to the question of limitation. As per the appeal memo, the appellant claimed that the date of communication of the Order-in-Original was 29 July 2024 and that the appeal was filed on 30 September 2024. However, on scrutiny of the record and the appellant’s own submissions, the Commissioner (Appeals) found that the appellant had received a recovery notice dated 9 August 2021 and had admitted in its statement of facts and subsequent correspondence that it became aware of the Order-in-Original upon receipt of that notice, which was delivered on 16 August 2021.
