Dismissal of Section 35L appeals on valuation grounds; Appellant granted two weeks for Section 35G reference.

The appeals under Section 35L of the Central Excise Act were dismissed by the High Court as they were deemed not maintainable. The Court held that the question of valuation for a refund did not relate to the value of goods for assessment purposes. The appellant was granted two weeks to file an application for reference under Section 35G, with the Tribunal willing to address it on its merits if submitted within the specified timeframe.

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Issues Involved:
The appeal under Section 35L of the Central Excise Act, 1944 against the judgment of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi dated January 31, 1997.

Issue 1: Appeal under Section 35L of the Act
The appellant invoked Clause (b) of Section 35L which allows appeal against orders relating to the determination of questions on the rate of duty of excise or the value of goods for assessment purposes. The Tribunal's order pertained to the value of goods in the context of a refund claim submitted by the appellant. However, the Court held that the question of valuation for a refund does not relate to the value of goods for assessment purposes as the assessment had already been completed. Therefore, the appeals were deemed not maintainable under Clause (b) of Section 35L, leading to their dismissal.

Issue 2: Application for Reference under Section 35G
The appellant argued that the matter fell under Section 35L(b) based on a previous order transferring the case to the Special Bench of the Tribunal for a decision on the value of goods. In response, the Court granted the appellant two weeks to file an application for reference under Section 35G of the Act. If the application was filed within the stipulated time frame, the Tribunal would entertain and address it on its merits. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed accordingly.

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