By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI , FEB 21, 2017: THE challenge in these appeals is against the judgment and order of the Delhi High Court interfering with the final findings dated 19th December, 2014 issued by the Designated Authority under Rule 17 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles And For Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995.

There are seriously disputed questions with regard to the locus of the respondent - M/s Sandisk International Ltd. to file the writ petition before the Delhi High Court and also as to whether the information sought for by the said respondent was actually furnished to it by the Designated Authority in the above communications and orders.

Though the Supreme Court did not deem it appropriate to lay down any inflexible proposition of law that in no case the final findings of the Designated Authority can be subject to challenge under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Court is of the view that in the facts of the present case, the High Court was not justified in exercising its writ jurisdiction and in setting aside the final findings of the Designated Authority.

The Supreme Court felt that the High Court should have asked the writ petitioner before it to await the issuance of the final notification under Rule 18 of the Rules and to challenge the same before the appropriate appellate forum under Section 9C of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as and when such a notification is issued. In such an eventuality the final findings of the Designated Authority were bound to be considered by the appellate authority which authority would also have been better equipped to examine such a challenge.

Supreme Court took the view that the respondent - M/s Sandisk International Ltd., subject to its locus, and all other aggrieved parties should be left with the option of challenging the final notification dated 22nd May, 2015 before the appellate authority by means of an appeal under Section 9C of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.

If such an appeal is filed, the Supreme Court requested the Appellate Tribunal to consider and dispose of the same as expeditiously as possible.

The order of the High Court is set aside and the appeals consequently are allowed. It is made clear that the Court has expressed no opinion on the merits of the case and it is open for the Appellate Tribunal to consider all aspects of the matter, including the correctness of the final findings dated 19th December, 2014 issued by the Designated Authority, in the event of a challenge being made before it by an aggrieved party.

(See 2017-TIOL-78-SC-CUS)