Omission of fiscal provision without saving clause bars pending proceedings and invalidates post-omission de novo adjudication.

Proceedings under Rule 96ZQ of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 could not continue after omission of that rule and Section 3A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as no saving clause preserved pending matters. The Tribunal applied Gujarat High Court authority and its own earlier view to hold that fresh action could not be initiated under the omitted provision and that pending proceedings lapsed if not finally concluded by the date of omission. A de novo adjudication passed after the omissions could not revive a proceeding that had ceased to survive in law. The impugned order was therefore unsustainable and the appeals were allowed.

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Issues: Whether proceedings initiated under Rule 96ZQ of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 could survive after omission of the rule and Section 3A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 without a saving clause, and whether a de novo order passed after such omission could be sustained.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed the Gujarat High Court decision holding that once Rule 96ZQ was omitted and Section 3A was also omitted without any saving clause, no fresh proceedings could be initiated under the omitted provision and pending proceedings not concluded by the date of omission would lapse. The Tribunal further applied its earlier view in an identical matter and held that de novo adjudication completed after the omission could not revive a proceeding that had already ceased to survive in law. The revenue's contention that the original notice had been issued before the omission was rejected because the decisive fact was that the proceedings were not finally concluded before the statutory omissions took effect.

Conclusion: The impugned order was unsustainable and the appeals were allowed in favour of the appellants.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a saving clause, proceedings under an omitted fiscal provision cannot continue or be concluded after the omission if they remained pending on the date of repeal or omission.

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