Summary
An appeal filed after FERA’s repeal against an adjudication order under Section 51 FERA lay to the Appellate Tribunal under FEMA, rather than the Special Director (Appeals). The same appellate forum governed appeals pending at repeal and later appeals arising from saved FERA proceedings. The High Court’s contrary ruling was reversed and the appeals transferred for decision on merits.
Issues
- Which FEMA appellate forum had jurisdiction over post-repeal appeals against adjudication under Section 51 FERA in proceedings begun before repeal.
Provisions considered
- Sections 17, 18, 19 and 49(5)(b), Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999The statutory transition placed the FERA appeals before the Appellate Tribunal; post-repeal filing did not route otherwise similar appeals to the Special Director (Appeals). (¶¶ 18–30, 37–42)
- Section 81(2)(c), Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973The earlier transition from FERA 1947 to FERA 1973 reinforced the legislative intention of a single successor appellate forum, despite differences in wording. (¶¶ 18, 29–36)
Held
- Section 49 dissolved the FERA Appellate Board and transferred its pending appeals to the FEMA Appellate Tribunal. Purposive construction required later-filed appeals against Section 51 FERA orders also to reach that Tribunal under Section 19. (¶¶ 19–28, 40–41)
- The legislature did not intend two differently ranked forums for appeals against the same category of FERA order merely because filing occurred before or after 1 June 2000. The prior repeal-and-saving scheme reinforced that construction, notwithstanding nonidentical wording. (¶ 27–37)
- Dividing those appeals between forums would also produce anomalous appellate routes, including the Section 35 High Court appeal from Tribunal orders. The construction avoiding that anomaly was adopted. The underlying penalty merits were not adjudicated. (¶ 38–42)
Result
Union’s appeal allowed; High Court order set aside. The specified appeals before the Special Director (Appeals) transferred to the concerned FEMA Appellate Tribunal for disposal on merits according to law.