2005 (2) TMI 573 - AT - Central Excise

Tribunal overturns dismissal of appeal, finding Order-in-Original received in time. Remanded for further proceedings.

The Tribunal set aside the dismissal of the appeal as time-barred due to non-receipt of the Order-in-Original. It was found that the appellants received ... Appeal - Limitation Issues: Appeal against dismissal of appeal as time-barred due to non-receipt of Order-in-Original.In this case, the appellant, a manufacturing company, filed an appeal against the dismissal of their appeal as time-barred by the Commissioner (Appeals) due to non-receipt of the Order-in-Original. The appellant argued that the Order was sent to a different entity with a different address, and they only received an attested copy of the Order on a later date. The appellant contended that they filed the appeal within the stipulated time limit under Section 35A of the Central Excise Act. The Revenue did not dispute that the Order-in-Original was not addressed to the appellants but to another entity. The Tribunal observed that the communication of the Order was not completed by sending it to the wrong address and entity. The Tribunal found that the appellants received the Order only when an attested copy was handed over to them, well within the statutory time limit. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Commissioner (Appeals) for a decision on the appeal's merits after providing a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the appellants.