High Court overturns Excise Appeal orders, remands for fresh decision.

The High Court of Bombay quashed the orders of the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and CESTAT due to a delay in forwarding the appeal memo to the correct office, which was not the fault of the appellant. The matter was remanded to the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) for a decision on merits and in accordance with the law. The appeal was disposed of with no order as to costs.

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Issues involved: Appeal dismissed as time-barred due to delay in forwarding appeal memo to the correct office.

Summary:
The High Court of Bombay heard the appeal based on the substantial question of law regarding the dismissal of the appeal by CESTAT. The appellant had filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) against an order but it was mistakenly delivered to the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise instead of the correct office, both located in the same building. Despite the appellant's efforts to expedite the process, the appeal was dismissed by the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) as belatedly filed. The appellant then appealed to CESTAT, which also dismissed the appeal. The High Court found that the delay in forwarding the appeal memo to the correct office was not the fault of the appellant. Consequently, the orders of the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and CESTAT were quashed, and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) for a decision on merits and in accordance with the law. The appeal was disposed of with no order as to costs.

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