Rectification limitation under Central Excise law runs from the date of signing the order, making a delayed application time-barred.

An application for rectification of mistake under the Central Excise Act was held to be time-barred because the six-month limitation period ran from the date of the order itself, not from the date a copy was obtained or received. Applying the Supreme Court ruling in M.M. Foam, the expression "from the date of the order" was treated as the date of signing of the order. Since the application was filed after six months from that date, it was beyond limitation and liable to be dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the application for rectification of mistake was barred by limitation under Section 35C(2) of the Central Excise Act, and from which date the six-month period had to be computed.

Analysis: The application was filed after six months from the date of the order. The governing limitation was to be counted from the date of the order itself, not from the date on which a copy of the order was obtained or received. The decision of the Apex Court in M.M. Foam was applied to hold that the expression "from the date of the order" refers to the date of signing of the order. On that basis, the application was beyond time.

Conclusion: The application was barred by limitation and was liable to be dismissed.

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