Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited property) Rules, 1977

SO 179(E), dated 18-2-1977 : In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (7) of section 12 of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 (13 of 1976), the Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property hereby makes the following rules, namely:—

Short title and commencement.

1.     (1) These rules may be called the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property) Rules, 1977.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Definitions.

2.     In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    (i)   “Act” means the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 (13 of 1976);

   (ii)   “appeal” means a memorandum of appeal to the Tribunal filed under sub-section (4) of section 12;

(iii)   “appellant” means a person who, being aggrieved by an order made by the competent authority, prefers an appeal to the Tribunal, and includes the authorised representative of the appellant;

  (iv)   “authorised representative” means,—

   (a)   in relation to an appellant, any person being a relative of, or a person who is, or was, regularly employed by the appellant and authorised by the appellant in writing to attend before the Tribunal; or

   (b)   a legal practitioner entitled to practise in any civil court in India, who is authorised by the appellant; or

   (c)   an accountant, being an Associate or Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, who is authorised by the appellant; or

   (d)   in relation to a competent authority who is a party to any proceeding before the Tribunal, a standing counsel to the Government or a person duly appointed by the Government by notification in the Official Gazette as the authorised representative or any other person acting on behalf of the person so appointed;

   (v)   “Bench” means Bench of the Tribunal constituted under sub-section (6) ¹[or (6A)] of section 12;

  (vi)   “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Tribunal;

(vii)   “legal representative” means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person or persons treated by the Tribunal as representing the deceased person in the proceedings pending before the Tribunal, unless a competent court holds otherwise and its order is brought to the notice of the Tribunal;

(viii)  “member” means a member of the Tribunal;

  (ix)   “party” in relation to an appeal, means an appellant or the respondent and the expression “parties” shall be construed to mean the appellant and the respondent as the context may require;

   (x)   “Registrar” means such Administrative Officer of the Tribunal as the Tribunal may appoint for discharging the functions of its Registrar;

  (xi)   “section” means a section of the Act;

(xii)   “Tribunal” means the Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property, constituted by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 12.

Language of the Tribunal.

3.     (1) All pleadings before the Tribunal may, at the option of the appellant, be in English or in Hindi.

(2) All orders and other proceedings of the Tribunal may, at the option of the Tribunal, be in English or in Hindi.

Headquarters of the Tribunal, etc.

4.     (1) The headquarters of the Tribunal shall be at New Delhi.

(2) All appeals and petitions shall ordinarily be heard at the headquarters but may, at the discretion of the Chairman, be heard at Bombay, Madras, Calcutta or any other place in the public interest.

(3) The office of the Tribunal shall observe such public and other holidays as are observed by the offices of the Central Government.

Procedure for filing appeals and petitions.

5.     (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the competent authority ²[under section 7 or sub-section (1) of section 9 or section 10 of the Act] may prefer an appeal to the Tribunal.

(2) A memorandum of appeal shall be in Form A annexed hereto and shall be in English or in Hindi and shall set forth, concisely and under distinct heads, the grounds of appeal without any argument or narrative, and such grounds shall be numbered consecutively.

(3) (a) Every memorandum of appeal shall be presented by the appellant in person or by his authorised representative to the Registrar at the office of the Tribunal or to an officer authorised in this behalf by the Chairman (hereinafter referred to as the authorised officer) or shall be sent by registered post, acknowledgement due, addressed to the Registrar or to such authorised officer :

Provided that where there are more appellants than one, it shall be sufficient if the ³[appeal] is presented by one of the appellants or by the authorised representative of all the appellants.

(b) Where the memorandum of appeal is sent by registered post, the date of receipt of the memorandum of appeal at the office of the Tribunal alone shall be considered as the date of filing of the appeal.

(c) The Registrar or the authorised officer shall endorse on every memorandum of appeal the date on which it is presented or received at the office of the Tribunal and shall sign the endorsement.

(4) Every memorandum of appeal shall be in quadruplicate and shall be accompanied by four copies of the order appealed against (one of the copies shall be a certified copy).

(5) In every appeal, the competent authority shall be impleaded as one of the respondents.

(6) Any petition presented under these rules shall be in quadruplicate and shall be accompanied by an affidavit as also such documents as are relied upon in the memorandum of appeal.

Procedure for registration or rejection of appeal.

6.     (1) Every memorandum of appeal, filed within forty-five days of service of the order of the competent authority, being in Form A annexed hereto and otherwise in order, shall be registered and numbered by the Registrar who shall intimate the appellant or his authorised representative accordingly.

(2) (a) The Registrar may return a memorandum of appeal filed within a period of forty-five days, if it is not in the prescribed form or not otherwise in order, for its being amended within such period, before the expiry  of the said period of forty-five days as he may specify, or within such further period as may be extended by him (not being a period beyond the said period of forty-five days).

(b) Where the memorandum of appeal is filed after amendment, within the period of forty-five days, the Registrar shall be competent to register the appeal under sub-rule (1).