In Brief
The Supreme Court addressed the scope of the High Court's authority under Section 130A(4) of the Customs Act when considering applications to refer questions of law from the Appellate Tribunal. The Court held that the High Court has discretionary, not mandatory, power to direct the Tribunal to refer a question of law. The Court rejected the earlier precedent requiring the High Court to invariably call for a statement from the Tribunal before deciding such applications, clarifying that the discretion arises conditionally based on case facts. The Court found no statutory language mandating automatic statement production before judicial examination of reference applications.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.