Tribunal overturns time-barred order due to delayed receipt, remands for further review.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, setting aside the time-barred Order-in-Appeal due to the appellant's delayed receipt caused by an address change. Relying on the absence of the Acknowledgement Card signed by the appellant's officer, the Tribunal accepted the appeal filing in 2004. Following the precedent in Margra Industries v. CC, New Delhi, the Tribunal remanded the matter for further consideration by the Commissioner (Appeals), granting the appellant an opportunity for a hearing.

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Issues involved: Appeal against time-barred Order-in-Appeal No. AT/M-III/260/2005 dated 16-5-2005.

Summary:
The appeal was filed challenging the Order-in-Appeal passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) on the grounds of being time-barred. The appellant argued that the order was received belatedly due to a change in address, leading to the delay in filing the appeal. The Commissioner (Appeals) dismissed the appeal as not maintainable citing the failure to file within the stipulated time limit under Section 35 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Upon review, the Tribunal found that the Order-in-Original was dispatched to the appellant via Registered Post/Acknowledgement Due, but the Revenue failed to produce the Acknowledgement Card signed by the appellant's officer. Citing a precedent in the case of Margra Industries v. CC, New Delhi, the Tribunal accepted the appellant's assertion of filing the appeal in 2004. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter back to the Commissioner (Appeals) for consideration on merits and granting an opportunity of hearing to the appellant. The appeal was allowed by way of remand.

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