2009 (10) TMI 133 - SC - Central Excise

By the impugned order, relying on the decision of the Larger Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Wyeth Laboratories v. Collector of Central Excise, Bombay, the Tribunal has allowed the appeals preferred by the assessee. The Tribunal has held that the assessee was entitled to clear partially used Aluminium Cathodes under Rule 57F (2) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. - Revenue states that as per his instructions no appeal was preferred against the said order. Thus, the decision of the Larger Bench in the case of Wyeth Laboratories has attained finality. - Tribunal has not gone into the factual aspect of the assessee s case and has merely relied upon the said decision, while granting relief to the assessee, the Revenue cannot be permitted to reopen the issue. The appeals being devoid of any merit are dismissed accordingly.

Summary

Issues:
1. Interpretation of Rule 57F (2) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.
2. Finality of the decision of the Larger Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Wyeth Laboratories.
3. Permissibility of the Revenue to challenge the decision of the Tribunal.

Analysis:
1. The appeals under Section 35(1)(b) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 were filed against the final orders passed by the Tribunal in appeals No. E/2364/98 and 2365/1998. The Tribunal, relying on the decision in Wyeth Laboratories v. Collector of Central Excise, Bombay, allowed the appeals of the assessee, holding that the assessee was entitled to clear partially used Aluminium Cathodes under Rule 57F (2) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

2. The status of the decision of the Larger Bench in the case of Wyeth Laboratories was questioned during the hearing. The Revenue confirmed that no appeal was filed against the said order, indicating that the decision had attained finality. As the Tribunal had based its decision on this precedent without delving into the factual aspects of the assessee's case, it was concluded that the Revenue could not reopen the issue. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed for lacking merit.

3. The judgment emphasizes that since the Tribunal's decision was based on the precedent of the Wyeth Laboratories case, and the Revenue had not challenged this decision, the Revenue could not contest the outcome in the present cases. The principle of finality of decisions was upheld, preventing the Revenue from reopening the issue based on the factual aspect of the assessee's case. As a result, the appeals were deemed to be without merit and were dismissed accordingly.