Valid authorisation for Central Excise appeals requires the statutory Review Committee; single-Commissioner sanction is insufficient and the appeal fails.

An appeal under Section 35B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 can be validly authorised only by the statutorily constituted Review Committee under Section 35B(1B). A single Commissioner cannot exercise that power, so an appeal filed on the basis of authorisation issued by one Commissioner alone lacks lawful sanction. On that reasoning, the Tribunal treated the filing as not maintainable and dismissed the proceeding at the threshold without going into the merits.

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Issues: Whether the appeal filed before the Tribunal was validly authorised and maintainable.

Analysis: Under Section 35B(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the power to review an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) and to direct filing of an appeal lies with the Committee of Commissioners constituted under Section 35B(1B). A single Commissioner cannot exercise that power. As the appeal had been filed pursuant to authorisation issued by one Commissioner alone, the authorisation was invalid and the appeal lacked proper sanction in law.

Conclusion: The appeal was not maintainable and was dismissed.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding failed at the threshold for want of lawful authorisation, and the Tribunal did not grant relief on the merits.

Ratio Decidendi: An appeal under Section 35B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 can be validly authorised only by the statutorily constituted Review Committee, not by a single Commissioner acting alone.

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