Draft adjudication order invalid where final decision was not properly completed and authenticated, leading to remand.

A draft adjudication order signed by the Collector did not constitute a valid final order because it had not been completed and authenticated in the form required by law. The Tribunal applied the principle that a quasi-judicial decision becomes operative only when finally expressed as a lawful adjudication, and therefore treated the purported order as invalid. As the order itself failed on this threshold issue, the Tribunal did not examine the duty demand or penalties. The impugned order was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh adjudication.

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Issues: Whether the order of the Collector, signed only as a draft, constituted a valid final adjudication order and whether the impugned order was liable to be set aside and remanded for fresh decision.

Analysis: The order recorded that the document signed by the Collector was only a draft and had not attained the character of a final order of adjudication. Applying the principle that a judicial or quasi-judicial order becomes operative only when the decision is finally expressed in the manner required by law, the Tribunal held that the draft could not be treated as a valid order. Since the validity of the order itself failed, the Tribunal did not go into the merits of the duty demand or penalties.

Conclusion: The draft adjudication order was invalid and the impugned order was set aside. The matter was remitted to the Collector for fresh adjudication, which is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A draft adjudication order does not constitute a valid final order unless and until the decision is completed and authenticated in the form required by law.

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