Signed adjudication orders take legal effect on passing; later inconsistent orders are unsustainable even if not yet communicated.

An adjudication order becomes legally effective once signed and passed in the file; non-communication does not erase its legal force, because communication is only an administrative step. The department can appeal against such an order under the statutory appellate provision even before communication. On that basis, a later order made after the earlier signed order had already come into existence was treated as legally unsustainable and non est, and the later order was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the later order passed by the Collector was without legal effect because an earlier signed adjudication order had already been made, and whether the appeals against the penalty were maintainable on that footing.

Analysis: Once an adjudication order is signed and passed in the file, it becomes an order in law. Non-communication does not deprive such an order of legal force, and communication is only an administrative act. The department may appeal against such an order under the statutory appellate provision even before communication. On that basis, the subsequent order passed after the earlier signed order had already come into existence was not legally sustainable.

Conclusion: The later order was treated as non est and was set aside. The appeals succeeded.

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