Third-party documents cannot be summoned, but a refund order treated as a public document may be copied under the rules.

Documents filed by another assessee in its own proceedings could not be compelled by a third party through summons, so the appellant was not entitled to obtain the sample gate passes. The refund order of the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Baroda was treated as a public document, so an interested party could seek a copy under the applicable rules. If the copy was refused, the appellant could request the Assistant Collector to summon it from the other Assistant Collector.

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Issues: Whether the appellant could compel production or summon copies of documents filed by another assessee, and whether the refund order passed by the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Baroda could be treated as a public document available to the appellant.

Analysis: The request in respect of the sample gate passes related to documents filed by another assessee in its own proceedings, and such documents could not be summoned by the appellant. The refund order, however, was held to be a public document, and copies of it could be obtained by an interested party in accordance with the applicable rules. If the copy was refused, it would then be open to the appellant to request the Assistant Collector to summon it from the other Assistant Collector.

Conclusion: The appellant was not entitled to summon the third-party gate passes, but was entitled to apply for a copy of the refund order as a public document.

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