1997 (12) TMI 297 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Denial of benefit of Notification No. 138/86 to the assessees by Assistant Collector.
2. Challenge by Revenue against the order remitting proceedings back to Assistant Collector.
3. Claim of incorrect information regarding passing of order in de novo proceeding.
4. Absence of final order from CEGAT in the scheduled case.
5. Consideration of reliance on Ballarpur Industries judgment.
6. Merits of the appeal memorandum and dismissal of appeals.

Analysis:

1. The Assistant Collector denied the benefit of Notification No. 138/86 to the assessees while approving the classification lists. The assessees claimed that the Tribunal had granted unconditional stay in a similar case and the case was pending for final hearing before CEGAT. The Collector set aside the order and remitted the proceedings to the Assistant Collector to wait for the decision of CEGAT. Revenue challenged this order, arguing that the Collector relied on a different case's judgment, which involved a different notification.

2. During the hearing, it was revealed that the Assistant Collector had not yet passed an order in the de novo proceeding as directed by the Collector. The Bench adjourned the proceedings to allow the DR to respond to this new information.

3. The learned Advocate clarified that his previous information about the Assistant Collector passing an order was incorrect. Both sides were asked about the final order from CEGAT in the case scheduled for hearing, but neither could provide a copy. The issue of whether the case was decided by CEGAT remained unresolved.

4. The Tribunal considered the reliance on the Ballarpur Industries judgment for granting unconditional stay. The absence of the stay order made it difficult to determine the context of the reliance. The Tribunal highlighted that a judgment can address various aspects, including subsidiary issues, and without the judgment copy, it was challenging to accept the contentions made in the appeal memorandum. The appeal was deemed to lack merit due to the absence of crucial evidence.

5. The Tribunal emphasized that if the statements in the appeal memorandum were later found to be correct upon perusal of the awaited Tribunal order, the department still had avenues for redressal before the Assistant Collector or Collector (Appeals). The dismissal of the appeals was justified to protect revenue interests, as the absence of essential documentation hindered a proper assessment of the case.