Retesting of excise samples cannot be denied where prescribed application and fee requirements are met under applicable instructions.

Where excise instructions confer a right to seek retesting of departmental samples, compliance with the prescribed time limit and fee is sufficient to trigger that right. The request cannot be rejected merely because the original chemical test reports are clear, complete, or obtained from recognised laboratories, since those considerations are irrelevant to the exercise of the retesting entitlement. Denial of retesting in a matter carrying civil and potential penal consequences was treated as contrary to natural justice. The assessee was therefore entitled to retesting, and the refusal was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to retesting of samples drawn by the department under the excise instructions, and whether such request could be refused on the ground that the original test reports were clear, complete, and obtained from recognised laboratories.

Analysis: The applicable instructions permitted an assessee dissatisfied with the chemical test to seek retesting within the prescribed time on payment of the prescribed fee. Once the statutory and procedural conditions were met, the request could not be rejected on considerations such as the department's satisfaction with the original reports or the fact that the reports came from recognised laboratories. Denial of the right to retest in a matter having direct civil consequences and potential penal consequences was held to offend principles of natural justice. The reasons supplied for refusal were found to be irrelevant to the exercise of the retesting right.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to retesting of the samples, and the refusal to permit retesting was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory or instruction-based right of retesting exists, compliance with the prescribed application and fee requirements is sufficient, and the request cannot be refused on the ground that the department considers the original test report adequate or conclusive.

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