Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
Section 18 FEMA Act 1999 - Appellate Tribunal
Section 18 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 identifies the Appellate Tribunal that exercises appellate jurisdiction under FEMA. The provision was substantially changed by the Finance Act, 2017 with effect from 26 May 2017.
Current Section 18 of FEMA: Appellate Tribunal
Section 18 - Appellate Tribunal.
The current provision makes the Appellate Tribunal constituted under Section 12(1) of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 the Appellate Tribunal for the purposes of FEMA from the commencement of Part XIV of Chapter VI of the Finance Act, 2017. That Tribunal exercises the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on it by or under FEMA.
The operative effect is that FEMA no longer depends on a separately constituted Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange under the old Section 18. The statutory appellate forum is the Appellate Tribunal constituted under the SAFEMA framework and assigned FEMA jurisdiction by the substituted Section 18.
Meaning and legal effect of Section 18
Appellate Tribunal means the Tribunal referred to in Section 18 of FEMA. Section 2(b) of FEMA was correspondingly substituted by the Finance Act, 2017 so that the definition points to the Tribunal referred to in Section 18.
SAFEMA refers to the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976. Section 18 of FEMA adopts the Appellate Tribunal constituted under Section 12(1) of that Act as the appellate forum for FEMA.
Jurisdiction, powers and authority means that the Tribunal performs the appellate and related functions that FEMA confers upon the Appellate Tribunal. The right to appeal, persons entitled to appeal, limitation, deposit requirements and powers in appeal are principally dealt with in Section 19 of FEMA.
What changed under the Finance Act, 2017?
Position before 26 May 2017
The former Section 18 directed the Central Government, by notification, to establish an Appellate Tribunal known as the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange to hear appeals against orders of Adjudicating Authorities and the Special Director (Appeals).
Position from 26 May 2017
Section 165 of the Finance Act, 2017 substituted Section 18. Instead of providing for a separate FEMA tribunal, the amended provision designates the Appellate Tribunal constituted under SAFEMA as the Appellate Tribunal for FEMA. The same 2017 amendment also omitted former Section 20 of FEMA concerning composition of the Appellate Tribunal.
This amendment formed part of the statutory restructuring and merger of tribunals. For a current FEMA reference, the substituted Section 18 should therefore be used rather than the original 1999 wording.
How Section 18 fits into the FEMA appeal structure
Section 18 identifies the Tribunal. The substantive route for an appeal to that Tribunal is set out in Section 19 - Appeal to Appellate Tribunal. Orders falling within Section 17 - Appeal to Special Director (Appeals) follow the statutory route specified there.
In practical terms, a person considering a FEMA appeal should read Sections 17, 18 and 19 together, along with the applicable rules, notifications and current filing directions. Section 18 itself establishes the identity and authority of the Tribunal; it does not by itself set out the complete filing procedure for every appeal.
Official resources for Section 18 and FEMA appeals
For current institutional information and filing facilities, refer to the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA, the Department of Revenue e-filing portal, and the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. The e-Gazette of India is the authoritative portal for Gazette publications, including amending legislation and notifications.