What is Customs Excise and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal?

Now to be honest, if you google this, the answers that pop up are going to go right through your head. Let me just say how this tribunal is legally defined as, “The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) is an Indian court that hears appeals against orders and decisions passed under the Customs Act 1962, Central Excise Act 1944 as amended from time to time”. The CESTAT was formed in 1982 to provide a platform for all the issues and appeals that would be filed against orders and decisions that were passed by the Commission of Customs and Excise(1962), Central Excise(1944) and Gold Act(1968). Now in layman terms, this tribunal acts as court to resolve issues that arise during customs and with the service tax coming into the picture, the tribunal also holds a court for issues that are raised against it or that come under it.

The CESTAT has two main other duties and the first one being, they are an appellate jurisdiction for anti-dumping activities and they are on a Special Board that is headed by the President. In this special bench, they hear and accept appeals against Designated Authorities who are in the Ministry of Commerce.

With powers comes responsibilities that need to be carried on and this tribunal is to encourage and help in the smooth functioning of the companies regarding the customs, excise and service tax laws. These laws are very important because these laws form the structure of a company and help in the transactions with the foreign sale of goods. Having a legal structure and a tribunal who works towards achieving the objectives helps in the economic, financial and legal growth of the nation. Corpus Juris is a legal consultancy firm who deals with an array of legal issues that you might be facing and we have experts from the field and with an excellent record of experience as well.