The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Cuttack Bench, has imposed a cost of ₹20,000 on Mr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), for his failure to appear before the Tribunal and submit a compliance report despite explicit and repeated orders.
The contempt petition, C.P./87/2024, was filed by Applicant Deepak Niranjan Nath Pandit, challenging his suspension. The Tribunal, in an order dated September 12, 2025, had directed the respondents to either file a full compliance report or present a stay order from the jurisdictional High Court. Crucially, it was stipulated that failing such compliance, the CBIC Chairman was required to be personally present at the subsequent hearing.
During the hearing on October 23, 2025, the applicant’s counsel, Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, reiterated the Tribunal’s previous directives. A.C. Deo, representing the respondents, informed the Bench that a miscellaneous application had been filed seeking exemption from the CBIC Chairman’s personal appearance, citing a writ petition listed before the High Court on October 29, 2025.
However, the Bench, comprising Pramod Kumar Das (Member A) and Sudhi Ranjan Mishra (Member J), found that the respondents had neither complied with the previous order nor ensured the personal presence of the CBIC Chairman. The Tribunal noted that the respondents “should have either filed a full compliance report or produced a stay order, failing which the CBIC Chairman should have ensured his appearance personally or through video conferencing.”
Taking into account the personal prayer made by the CBIC officers’ counsel, the Tribunal decided not to issue any further order on that specific prayer today but proceeded to impose a cost of ₹20,000 on the CBIC Chairman. This amount is to be paid to the applicant by the next hearing date.
The Tribunal has further directed the respondents to file the full compliance report or a stay order from the High Court by the next date. Failing this, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman of the CBIC, is mandated to appear personally before the Bench on December 11, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.
The matter is now listed for hearing on December 11, 2025.
The Order can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/deepak-niranjannath-pandit.pdf
