Non-adjudicatory departmental communication cannot bar appeal, and minor declaration defects cannot defeat MODVAT credit where eligibility is proved.

A departmental communication rejecting or not acknowledging a declaration, issued without show cause notice or hearing, was treated as a mere letter and not an adjudication order; non-filing of an appeal against it therefore did not bar the assessee's remedy. On the MODVAT issue, minor defects in the declaration's description or classification could not justify denial of credit where the goods' duty-paid character and use were undisputed and substantive eligibility had already been accepted in earlier proceedings. The Revenue's challenge was therefore untenable and the appeal was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the communication rejecting or not acknowledging the declaration was an appealable order, and whether MODVAT credit could be denied for minor procedural irregularities in the declaration when the goods' duty-paid character and use were not in dispute.

Analysis: The communication issued by the department was treated as a mere letter and not as an adjudication order, since it was passed without show cause notice or opportunity of hearing and did not itself indicate that it was an appealable order. Non-filing of an appeal against such a communication did not operate as estoppel against the assessee. On the substantive question, the declaration issue had already been decided in the assessee's favour in an earlier order, and minor defects in description or classification in the declaration could not by themselves justify denial of MODVAT credit where the essential eligibility conditions were otherwise satisfied.

Conclusion: The Revenue's challenge was held to be untenable and the appeal was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The decision affirms that a non-adjudicatory departmental communication does not foreclose appellate remedy, and that minor procedural lapses in declarations cannot defeat MODVAT credit when substantive eligibility is established.

Ratio Decidendi: A departmental communication issued without adjudication is not an appealable order, and minor procedural irregularities in a declaration cannot be used to deny MODVAT credit in the absence of dispute about duty-paid character or use of the goods.

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