2004 (3) TMI 449 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of Commissioner to pass a supplementary order in Central Excise law

The judgment deals with an appeal by the Revenue against a supplementary order passed by the Commissioner regarding the inclusion of certain charges in the assessable value of oxygen and dissolved acetylene gas. The dispute arose when the Commissioner, in a common final order, allowed the appeals filed by the assessee against the orders of the Jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner. Subsequently, the assessee represented that the first order had omitted to address the issue of delivery and collection charges of cylinders. The Commissioner then passed a supplementary order to address this issue. The Revenue contended that the Commissioner had no jurisdiction to pass a supplementary order and sought to set it aside for a de novo consideration by the Commissioner.

During the hearing, only the learned SDR appeared, and the respondent assessee was absent. The SDR argued that the Commissioner did not have the power to pass a review order, which the supplementary order essentially amounted to. However, it was acknowledged that the first order of appeal had indeed overlooked an issue raised by the assessee, leading to the supplementary order. The SDR did not dispute the correctness of the supplementary order on its merits.

Upon examining the records and the arguments presented, the Tribunal found that granting the prayer for remand, as requested by the Revenue, would only result in duplicating the appellate proceedings without affecting the final outcome. Since the correctness of the supplementary order was not contested, the Tribunal concluded that there was no need to interfere with the supplementary order. Consequently, the appeal by the Revenue was dismissed, upholding the validity of the supplementary order passed by the Commissioner.

---