Section 19 of FEMA Act 1999: Appeal to Appellate Tribunal

Section 19 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 provides the statutory route for an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against specified orders of an Adjudicating Authority or the Special Director (Appeals). It also deals with limitation, pre-deposit of penalty, waiver for undue hardship, hearing of the appeal and the Tribunal's power to examine certain adjudication records.

Updated: 27 September 2026

At a glance: An appeal under Section 19 is ordinarily to be filed within 45 days from receipt of the relevant order. If a penalty has been levied, the statutory rule requires deposit of the penalty while filing the appeal, but the Appellate Tribunal may dispense with the deposit where it considers that deposit would cause undue hardship, subject to conditions protecting recovery.

Who may appeal?The Central Government or an aggrieved person covered by Section 19(1).

Normal limitation45 days from receipt of the copy of the order.

Delayed appealMay be entertained where sufficient cause for delay is shown.

Penalty pre-depositRequired by the first proviso, subject to the undue-hardship dispensation in the second proviso.

What is the Appellate Tribunal under FEMA?

Section 18 of FEMA now provides that the Appellate Tribunal constituted under Section 12(1) of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 is the Appellate Tribunal for the purposes of FEMA. This arrangement took effect from the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Finance Act, 2017. Accordingly, older references to a separately established "Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange" should be read with the present Section 18 framework.

Who can file an appeal under Section 19?

Under Section 19(1), the Central Government or a person aggrieved by an order made by an Adjudicating Authority, other than the orders referred to in Section 17(1), may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. An appeal may also be filed against an order of the Special Director (Appeals).

The exclusion relating to Section 17(1) matters is important because Section 17 provides a separate first appellate route to the Special Director (Appeals) for the categories of Adjudicating Authority orders specified there.

Penalty pre-deposit and waiver for undue hardship

The first proviso to Section 19(1) requires a person appealing against an order levying a penalty to deposit the amount of that penalty with the authority notified by the Central Government when filing the appeal.

The second proviso gives the Appellate Tribunal power to dispense with the deposit where, in the circumstances of the particular case, it considers that requiring the deposit would cause undue hardship. The Tribunal may impose conditions that it considers appropriate to safeguard realisation of the penalty.

Practical point: A request to dispense with pre-deposit should clearly set out the facts relied upon to establish undue hardship and should address how the interests of recovery can be protected. The statutory test is case-specific.

Time limit for filing an appeal

Section 19(2) prescribes a period of 45 days from the date on which a copy of the order of the Adjudicating Authority or Special Director (Appeals) is received by the aggrieved person or the Central Government.

The proviso to Section 19(2) permits the Appellate Tribunal to entertain an appeal after 45 days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing the appeal within the prescribed period. The appeal should therefore record the date of receipt of the impugned order and, where necessary, be accompanied by the required application explaining the delay.

Form and filing procedure

Section 19(2) requires the appeal to be filed in the prescribed form, verified in the prescribed manner and accompanied by the prescribed fee. Rule 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Adjudication Proceedings and Appeal) Rules, 2000 prescribes Form II for an appeal under Section 19 and contains procedural requirements concerning the appeal, copies of the impugned order, grounds, service address, limitation and fee.

The Appellate Tribunal has also issued administrative filing guidance. Its public notice dated 22 August 2025 prescribes a sequence for appeal paper-book documents, including the index, fee-payment proof where applicable, memo of parties, synopsis, memorandum of appeal, supporting affidavit, impugned order, proof of service, vakalatnama or authority documents and relevant records. Parties should check the Tribunal's current notices before filing because administrative filing requirements can be updated.

Powers of the Appellate Tribunal under Section 19

Hearing and appellate orders - Section 19(3)

After giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, the Appellate Tribunal may confirm, modify or set aside the order appealed against.

Communication of the order - Section 19(4)

A copy of every order made by the Appellate Tribunal is to be sent to the parties and to the concerned Adjudicating Authority or Special Director (Appeals), as applicable.

Endeavour to dispose of appeal within 180 days - Section 19(5)

The Act requires appeals to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible and states that an endeavour should be made to dispose of an appeal finally within 180 days from receipt. If an appeal cannot be disposed of within that period, the Tribunal is required to record reasons in writing.

Power to call for records - Section 19(6)

For examining the legality, propriety or correctness of an order made by an Adjudicating Authority under Section 16 in relation to a proceeding, the Appellate Tribunal may, on its own motion or otherwise, call for the record and make such order in the case as it thinks fit.

Section 19 - statutory text

19. Appeal to Appellate Tribunal.

(1) Save as provided in sub-section (2), the Central Government or any person aggrieved by an order made by an Adjudicating Authority, other than those referred to in sub-section (1) of section 17, or the Special Director (Appeals), may prefer an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal:

Provided that any person appealing against the order of the Adjudicating Authority or the Special Director (Appeals) levying any penalty, shall while filing the appeal, deposit the amount of such penalty with such authority as may be notified by the Central Government:

Provided further that where in any particular case, the Appellate Tribunal is of the opinion that the deposit of such penalty would cause undue hardship to such person, the Appellate Tribunal may dispense with such deposit subject to such conditions as it may deem fit to impose so as to safeguard the realisation of penalty.

(2) Every appeal under sub-section (1) shall be filed within a period of forty-five days from the date on which a copy of the order made by the Adjudicating Authority or the Special Director (Appeals) is received by the aggrieved person or by the Central Government and it shall be in such form, verified in such manner and be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Appellate Tribunal may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of forty-five days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.

(3) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against.

(4) The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order made by it to the parties to the appeal and to the concerned Adjudicating Authority or the Special Director (Appeals), as the case may be.

(5) The appeal filed before the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by it as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within one hundred and eighty days from the date of receipt of the appeal:

Provided that where any appeal could not be disposed of within the said period of one hundred and eighty days, the Appellate Tribunal shall record its reasons in writing for not disposing of the appeal within the said period.

(6) The Appellate Tribunal may, for the purpose of examining the legality, propriety or correctness of any order made by the Adjudicating Authority under section 16 in relation to any proceeding, on its own motion or otherwise, call for the records of such proceedings and make such order in the case as it thinks fit.

Related provisions

Section 19 should be read with Section 16 - Appointment of Adjudicating Authority, Section 17 - Appeal to Special Director (Appeals), Section 18 - Appellate Tribunal and the applicable rules governing the form and procedure of appeals.

Official resources

For the current statutory text, amendments and filing information, refer to the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 on India Code and the official Appellate Tribunal website. Filing parties should also review the Tribunal's current court notices before presenting an appeal.