Provisional assessment under excise rules remains provisional as a whole until finalisation, with limitation running from finalisation.

A provisional assessment under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 is treated as provisional in its entirety once validly made, not only in relation to the ground on which it was first invoked. The governing principle is that provisionality attaches to the assessment as a whole until finalisation, and the limitation consequence follows that finalisation rather than the original provisional order on a narrower basis. Existing Supreme Court and Tribunal authority was applied to confirm that the assessment does not become only partially provisional.

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Issues: Whether, when a provisional assessment is made under Rule 9B of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 on permissible grounds, the assessment as a whole is to be treated as provisional for all purposes, or whether its provisionality is confined only to the ground on which provisional assessment was originally resorted to.

Analysis: The reference was held to be covered by existing Supreme Court and Tribunal authority. The governing principle applied was that a provisional assessment does not become provisional only in part according to the ground initially adopted; once assessment is provisional, its character extends to the assessment as a whole until finalisation. On that basis, the limitation consequence attached to finalisation and not to the original provisional assessment on a narrower ground.

Conclusion: The question was answered in the negative to the contrary view, and the assessment was held to be provisional for all purposes, not merely in relation to the particular ground first considered.

Ratio Decidendi: A provisional assessment under the excise rules retains its provisional character in entirety until finalised, and the limitation effect follows finalisation of that provisional assessment.

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