Rectification of tribunal order preamble allowed where the wrong impugned order reference was an identifiable record error.

An apparent mistake in the preamble of an earlier CESTAT order, where the impugned order was described by the wrong reference number, was found to be rectifiable because the correct order reference was identifiable from the record. The Tribunal held that the error was a mistake in description rather than a substantive defect, and it corrected the record by substituting the proper order-in-original reference. The rectification application was therefore allowed.

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Issues: Whether the preamble of the earlier order contained a rectifiable mistake in describing the impugned order and, if so, whether the rectification application should be allowed.

Analysis: The order recorded that the appeal had been described under an incorrect order-in-appeal number in the preamble of the earlier final order. On perusal, the Tribunal found that the correct reference was to the order-in-original, and the incorrect description was a mistake requiring correction in the record.

Conclusion: The mistake in the preamble was rectified by substituting the correct order reference, and the rectification application was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: An apparent mistake in the description of the impugned order in a tribunal order is rectifiable when the correct order is identifiable from the record.

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