Appealability of final assessment orders under Central Excise law affirmed, requiring merits review by the appellate authority.

A final assessment order passed by a Central Excise Officer on finalisation of provisional assessment is an appealable order under Section 35(1) of the Central Excise Act if it affects the parties' rights. The text explains that an order made by an officer lower in rank than the Commissioner of Central Excise can be carried in appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals), and that a final order determining differential duty cannot be rejected merely for want of an appealable order. The lower appellate authority must examine the challenge on merits, and the matter was remanded accordingly with predeposit waived.

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Issues: Whether a final assessment order passed by a Central Excise Officer in finalisation of provisional assessment is an appealable order under Section 35(1) of the Central Excise Act, and whether the appeal should be decided on merits.

Analysis: An order passed under the Central Excise Act by an officer lower in rank than the Commissioner of Central Excise is appealable to the Commissioner (Appeals) if it affects the rights of the parties. A final assessment order determining differential duty on finalisation of provisional assessment is such an order, and therefore cannot be rejected on the ground that no appealable order exists. The lower appellate authority was required to examine the challenge on merits.

Conclusion: The final assessment order was held to be appealable, the dismissal for want of an appealable order was set aside, and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for decision on merits with predeposit waived.

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