Curable procedural defect in departmental appeal filing allows amendment where Committee authorisation was otherwise valid.

The departmental appeal under Section 35B(2) of the Central Excise Act was treated as affected by a curable procedural defect because it had been authorised by the Committee of Commissioners but filed by a different officer. The objection was rejected because the mismatch caused no prejudice to the respondent, and the filing could be aligned with the Committee's authorisation by amendment. The department was therefore permitted to file an amended appeal within the time granted in accordance with the Committee's directions.

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Issues: Whether the appeal filed by the department suffered from a curable procedural defect because the appeal was authorized by the Committee of Commissioners but filed by a different officer, and whether the respondent's preliminary objection should be sustained.

Analysis: The objection turned on the manner in which the departmental appeal had been presented under Section 35B(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The defect was treated as procedural in nature. It was further held that no prejudice would be caused to the respondent if the departmental filing was aligned with the Committee's authorization, and the error could be rectified by permitting amendment.

Conclusion: The preliminary objection was rejected in substance, and the department was permitted to file an amended appeal in accordance with the directions of the Committee of Commissioners within the time granted.

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