Revenue Department cannot pass subsequent order in the matter which is already been adjudicated

Last updated: 02 August 2023

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Quick Summary

The CESTAT, Ahmedabad, has ruled that the Revenue Department cannot issue a subsequent order on a matter that has already been adjudicated. In this case, an appellant challenged a new order-in-original, arguing that the issue had already been decided by an earlier adjudication order. The Tribunal agreed, declaring the subsequent order void ab initio and setting it aside.

Court :
CESTAT, Ahmedabad

Brief :
The CESTAT, Ahmedabad, in Neeraj Sharma v. Commissioner of Customs, Kandla [Customs Appeal No. 12056 of 2018-DB dated July 24, 2023] set aside the order passed by the Adjudicating authority on that matter which is already been adjudicated and held such order as void-Ab-initio.

Citation :
Customs Appeal No. 12056 of 2018-DB dated July 24, 2023

The CESTAT, Ahmedabad, in Neeraj Sharma v. Commissioner of Customs, Kandla [Customs Appeal No. 12056 of 2018-DB dated July 24, 2023] set aside the order passed by the Adjudicating authority on that matter which is already been adjudicated and held such order as void-Ab-initio.

Facts

Neeraj Sharma ("the Appellant") was served with a Show Cause Notice dated March 28, 2018 ("the SCN").

Thereafter, an order-in-originalwaspassed by the Adjudicating Authorityimposing the penalty of INR 25 Lakh under Section 112(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 ("the Customs Act").

The Appellant filed an appeal before the CESTAT against the order-in-original ("the Impugned Order") contending that the impugned order is void ab-initio as the SCN has already been adjudicated by the Adjudicating Authority vide order dated June 30, 2014 and the appeal was already filed against the said order before the CESTAT, Mumbai.

The Appellant further submitted that issuance of second adjudication order is clearly not sustainable in law particularly when the appeals are against order-in-original dated June 30, 2014 are pending before the CESTAT, Mumbai.

Issue

Whether the Revenue Department can issue SCN on the same matters which is already been adjudicated by the Adjudicating Authority?

Held

The CESTAT, Ahmedabad, in Customs Appeal No. 12056 of 2018-DB held as under:

Observed that, the Impugned Order was already adjudicated by the Ld. Commissioner of Customs vide order-in-original No. 5/2013-14/CC(I)JNCH dated June 30, 2014 and is currently pending before the CESTAT, Mumbai.
Held that, the present order passed by the Revenue Department is ab-initio void and illegal.
Set aside the Impugned Order and clarified that the CESTAT, Mumbai is at liberty to deal with the appeals independently which are pending before them.

FAQ :

No, the CESTAT has held that the Revenue Department cannot issue a new order on a matter that has already been adjudicated. Such subsequent orders are considered void ab initio.

'Void ab initio' means that the order is considered invalid from the very beginning, as if it never existed in law.

In Neeraj Sharma v. Commissioner of Customs, the CESTAT set aside a subsequent order passed by the Revenue Department on a matter that had already been adjudicated and was pending appeal.

The appellant argued that the show cause notice and the matter had already been adjudicated by an earlier order, and a subsequent adjudication order was not legally sustainable, especially while appeals were pending.