Compounded levy scheme: appellate authority cannot exercise a condonation power vested in the jurisdictional Commissioner; remand required.

Rule 96ZM vested the power to condone lapse under the compounded levy scheme in the jurisdictional Commissioner, so the Commissioner (Appeals) could not exercise that power while deciding the departmental appeal. An appellate authority cannot assume a statutory discretion expressly assigned to another authority by the rule itself. Where condonation is a prerequisite to fresh adjudication, the proper course is remand or prior consideration by the competent authority. The impugned order was therefore unsustainable, and the matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority for fresh decision after the jurisdictional Commissioner's determination on condonation.

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Issues: Whether the Commissioner (Appeals) could himself condone the lapse under the compounded levy scheme and grant relief that was vested by the rules only in the jurisdictional Commissioner.

Analysis: The appeal turned on the scope of Rule 96ZM. The order records that the power to condone the lapse was specifically vested in the jurisdictional Commissioner. The Commissioner (Appeals), while deciding the departmental appeal, could not assume that statutory power in the exercise of appellate jurisdiction. The proper course was to remand the matter or require the adjudicating authority to obtain the jurisdictional Commissioner's decision on condonation before passing a fresh order.

Conclusion: The Commissioner (Appeals) had no authority to exercise the power of condonation vested in the Commissioner, and the impugned order was unsustainable on that ground.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was allowed and the matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority for fresh decision after the jurisdictional Commissioner's decision on condonation of lapse.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory appellate authority cannot exercise a power expressly vested in another authority by the rule itself; where such prior statutory decision is required, the proper course is remand for consideration by the competent authority.

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