Appeal by post is filed on actual receipt, not posting date, when no rule permits postal filing; time-bar upheld.

Where no rule authorises filing of an appeal by post, an appeal under Section 35 of the Central Excises and Salt Act is filed only when it is actually received in the appellate authority's office, not when it is posted. Applying that principle, the Tribunal treated the date of receipt as the filing date, found the appeal received one day after the limitation period expired, and held it barred by time. The rejection of the appeal as time-barred was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether an appeal sent by post to the Appellate Collector under Section 35 of the Central Excises and Salt Act was filed on the date of posting or on the date of actual receipt in the Appellate Collector's office, and whether the appeal was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The period of limitation under the then prevailing Section 35 was three months. The appeal was received in the Appellate Collector's office on 16-3-1978, while the last date for filing was 15-3-1978. The Tribunal distinguished the position applicable to appeals expressly permitted to be sent by post and held that, in the absence of such permission for an appeal to the Appellate Collector, the normal rule was presentation in the office of that authority. Applying the earlier Tribunal and Supreme Court decisions relied upon, the date of actual receipt of the postal envelope in the Appellate Collector's office was treated as the date of filing.

Conclusion: The appeal was filed one day late and was barred by time. The Appellate Collector's rejection of the appeal as time-barred was upheld against the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an appeal is sent by post without any governing rule authorising filing by post, the appeal is deemed filed only on actual receipt in the office of the appellate authority, not on the date of posting.

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