Jurisdictional defect in adjudication defeats rectification where no error apparent on the record is shown.

The Tribunal held that rectification could not be used to disturb its earlier jurisdictional finding that the adjudicating authority was not vested with authority at the relevant time, because the show-cause notice had been assigned to a different Commissioner and the appointment of the concerned Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication) had later been withdrawn. It found no error apparent on the face of the record, and the Revenue's grounds did not displace that jurisdictional conclusion. The rectification application was therefore not maintainable on merits and was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue's application for rectification of mistake could succeed when the Tribunal had already held that the adjudicating authority lacked jurisdiction to decide the show-cause notice.

Analysis: The Tribunal revisited its earlier order and found no error apparent on the face of the record. It noted that the earlier decision had set aside the adjudication on the ground that the notice had been assigned to a different Commissioner and that the appointment of the concerned Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication) had later been withdrawn. On that basis, the Tribunal held that the authority who adjudicated the matter was not vested with jurisdiction at the relevant time. The grounds raised by the Revenue did not dislodge that jurisdictional finding.

Conclusion: The rectification application was not maintainable on merits and was dismissed.

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