Appellate order based on a later-set-aside precedent was quashed and remanded for fresh merits review.

An appellate order that granted exemption-related relief and reduced penalties by relying entirely on an earlier tribunal ruling could not survive after that ruling was later set aside by the Supreme Court. Because the foundation of the order had disappeared, the appellate reasoning lacked an independent basis and could not be sustained on its own merits. The matter was therefore required to be reconsidered afresh by the Commissioner (Appeals) on the substantive issues in accordance with law, and the impugned order was quashed with remand for fresh decision.

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Issues: Whether the appellate order, which rested solely on an earlier tribunal decision later rendered inoperative, could be sustained, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration.

Analysis: The appellate authority had granted relief and modified penalties by following an earlier tribunal decision on the availability of exemption benefit in a case of clandestine removal. That earlier decision was subsequently set aside by the Supreme Court, and the foundation of the appellate order therefore ceased to survive. Since the impugned order depended entirely on that precedent, it could not stand on its own footing and required reconsideration on merits by the appellate authority.

Conclusion: The impugned order was quashed and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh consideration in accordance with law.

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