Recall of merits order in respondent's absence barred where Tribunal rules give no power of review or restoration.

An order deciding an appeal on merits in the respondent's absence cannot be recalled under Rule 41 where the CEGAT Procedure Rules contain no express power to restore or review such a merits-based decision. Rules 20 and 21 distinguish dismissal for default by the appellant from ex parte hearing against an absent respondent, and the Tribunal is required by the governing statute to decide appeals on the record. A recall of a concluded merits order would amount in substance to review, which Rule 41 does not confer. The application for recall was therefore rejected.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction under Rule 41 of the CEGAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982 to recall an order passed on merits when the respondent was absent despite notice.

Analysis: Rules 20 and 21 of the CEGAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982 distinguish between dismissal for default of appearance by the appellant and hearing ex parte where the respondent does not appear. The scheme contains an express provision for restoring an appeal dismissed for default, but no corresponding provision for setting aside an order passed ex parte against the respondent. The Tribunal treated an order passed in the respondent's absence as a decision on merits, not as an ex parte decree in the civil-law sense. In the statutory framework governing the Tribunal, including Section 35C(1) and Section 35D of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 read with Section 129C of the Customs Act, 1962, the Tribunal is required to decide the appeal on merits from the record. A recall of such a merits order would amount in substance to review or setting aside a concluded decision, which is not conferred by Rule 41.

Conclusion: The Tribunal had no jurisdiction to recall the order under Rule 41, and the application was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: An order deciding an appeal on merits in the absence of the respondent cannot be recalled under the Tribunal's inherent powers where the governing rules provide no express power of restoration or review for such a merits-based decision.

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