Calcutta High Court holds that penalty appeals under repealed FERA retain penal character and may be heard as criminal appeals even after FEMA’s enactment.
The Calcutta High Court has ruled that appeals against penalty orders under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973, retain their penal character despite the enactment of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. As such, these proceedings can be heard as criminal appeals under the Letters Patent or relevant statutes.
The court reasoned that FERA penalties were punitive in nature and directly affected personal liberty or financial liability in a manner akin to criminal sanctions. The judgment clarifies that the transition from FERA’s regime to FEMA’s civil framework does not erase the original nature of liability arising from pre-FEMA adjudications.
This decision has implications for legacy FERA cases where appellants may now access broader appellate safeguards. Practitioners handling such historical enforcement matters should consider the criminal appeal route where remedies under FEMA are inadequate or procedurally barred.
