Appealable order principle applied to exemption denial, requiring fresh merits review of the captive consumption exemption claim.

A communication that finally rejects a claim to exemption from duty under Notification No. 67/95-C.E. is not a mere administrative intimation; it operates as an appealable order because it affects substantive rights. On that basis, the dismissal of the assessee's appeal for non-maintainability was not sustainable, and the exemption claim had to be examined on merits. The matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh adjudication of the exemption claim after granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the communication dated 24-2-2005, by which exemption under Notification No. 67/95-C.E. was denied, constituted an appealable order and whether the matter required remand for fresh decision on merits.

Analysis: The communication affected the assessee's rights by rejecting its claim to exemption from duty on clinker used for captive consumption. A communication which finally determines such a claim is not a mere administrative intimation but an order capable of being appealed against. Since the Commissioner (Appeals) had dismissed the appeal only on the ground of non-maintainability, the merits of the exemption claim had not been examined.

Conclusion: The communication was held to be an appealable order. The matter was remanded to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh adjudication on the assessee's claim to exemption under Notification No. 67/95-C.E., after granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

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