Writ petition on excise demand disposed of with liberty to seek a speaking order through departmental representation

The writ petition challenged a demand on the basis that no underlying order had been served and that assessment under the relevant tariff item had not been made. The High Court did not decide the legality of the demand or the recovery proceedings on merits. It disposed of the petition by granting liberty to the petitioners to make a representation to the Superintendent, Central Excise, who was directed to decide the matter by a speaking order after service of a certified copy of the order. The dispute was thus left to departmental decision-making without any merits determination.

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Issues: No substantive issue was finally adjudicated; the petition was disposed of with liberty to make a representation and seek a speaking order.

Analysis: The petition challenged the impugned demand on the ground that no underlying order had been served and that assessment under the relevant tariff item had not been made. The Court did not enter into the merits of the demand or the validity of the recovery proceedings. Instead, it directed the petitioners to make a representation to the Superintendent, Central Excise, who was to decide the matter by a speaking order after service of a certified copy of the order.

Conclusion: No adjudication on the legality of the demand was recorded. The petition was disposed of by directing recourse to representation before the departmental authority.

Final Conclusion: The matter was concluded at the writ stage without a merits determination, leaving the parties to pursue the departmental decision-making process.

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