2011 (1) TMI 750 - AT - Central Excise

Inspection of the certain documents - During the course of inspection it was found that out of 219 files (relied upon documents) 123 files were not available for inspection. To that effect the appellant further wrote to the Superintendent (Prev.) vide their letter dated 3-7-2002 with a request for further inspection of the remaining 123 files - there was a specific direction to the department to supply the relied upon documents to the appellants and that order has attained finality and the authorities below are bound to act as per the directions of the order of this Tribunal in the earlier round of litigation - Appeals are allowed by way of remand

Summary

Issues Involved:
Incomplete inspection of relied upon documents leading to adjudication without full compliance with Tribunal's order.

Detailed Analysis:

Issue 1: Incomplete inspection of relied upon documents
In the earlier round of litigation, the Tribunal directed the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise to re-adjudicate the disputes after supplying copies of all relied upon documents to the appellants and allowing cross-examination of witnesses. The appellants were allowed to inspect the documents on specific dates, and they requested further inspection due to the death of their consultant who had some records. However, during the inspection, it was found that 123 out of 219 files were not available for inspection. Despite the appellants' request for further inspection of the remaining files, the adjudication proceeded without granting the requested access.

Issue 2: Compliance with Tribunal's order
The Tribunal noted that the earlier order directing the supply of relied upon documents to the appellants had attained finality, and the authorities were bound to act accordingly. The department argued that as the appellants had been given an opportunity for inspection, supplying the documents was unnecessary, citing a Supreme Court decision. However, the Tribunal clarified that the Supreme Court decision was inapplicable as it pertained to non-relied upon documents, whereas in this case, there was a specific direction to provide the relied upon documents. The lower authorities were found to have not adjudicated the matter in line with the Tribunal's directions from the earlier round of litigation.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the original adjudicating authority to adjudicate in compliance with the Tribunal's order from the earlier round of litigation. The appeals were allowed by way of remand, emphasizing the importance of full compliance with the Tribunal's directions regarding the supply of relied upon documents for a fair adjudication process.