Fresh evidence cannot support an appeal when it was not before the adjudicating authority or first appellate authority.

An appeal cannot be sustained on certificates or other material collected after adjudication and the first appellate proceedings when those documents were not part of the original record. The Tribunal stated that appellate review must proceed on the same set of documents that were before the adjudicating authority, and fresh evidence obtained later cannot be introduced to revive or support a demand that was reduced below on the evidence then available. On that basis, the Revenue's attempt to rely on post-order third-party certificates was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue could sustain the appeal on the basis of certificates and other material collected after the adjudication and first appellate proceedings, and whether such fresh evidence could be relied upon to disturb the relief granted below.

Analysis: The demand and penalties had been reduced by the first appellate authority on the material then available on record. The Revenue sought to support the appeal by relying on certificates obtained later from third parties. The Tribunal held that an appeal must be decided on the same set of documents that were before the adjudicating authority, and that fresh evidence collected subsequent to adjudication and the first appellate order could not be introduced to support the demand.

Conclusion: The Revenue could not rely on fresh post-adjudication evidence, and the appeal was liable to be rejected on that ground.

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