Appealability of rejection letter fails where no quasi-judicial adjudication or natural justice compliance exists.

A letter rejecting an ASP-1 application for the special procedure on processed textile fabrics was not an appealable adjudication order under Section 35B of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The communication was issued by a subordinate officer without prior notice or hearing, and it merely conveyed rejection rather than a quasi-judicial determination. Since denial of the assessee's right to assessment in the prescribed manner had to be made by the Commissioner after complying with natural justice and then issued as an appealable order, the letter could not be treated as an order in adjudication. The appeal was therefore not maintainable under Section 35B.

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Issues: Whether a letter communicating rejection of an application under ASP-1 for availing the special procedure relating to processed textile fabrics was an appealable adjudication order under Section 35B of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The communication merely conveyed rejection by a subordinate officer without prior notice or hearing. A denial affecting the assessee's right to assessment in the prescribed manner had to be made by the Commissioner in a quasi-judicial proceeding, after complying with natural justice, and then issued as an appealable order. A letter of rejection, without such procedure, could not be treated as an order in adjudication for the purpose of Section 35B.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable under Section 35B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, because the impugned letter was not an adjudication order.

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