Jurisdictional objections in excise proceedings may be raised later when they involve a pure question of law.

Pure questions of law affecting jurisdiction, including the competence of excise officers to seize goods and conduct confiscation proceedings, may be raised for the first time before the Tribunal. The Tribunal held that such grounds did not require fresh factual inquiry for basic maintainability and distinguished decisions on waiver of jurisdictional objections on facts. The appellate forum could entertain and grant relief on legal grounds not previously taken, so the additional grounds were permitted and the application was allowed.

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Issues: Whether additional grounds challenging the jurisdiction of the excise authorities, including seizure and confiscation proceedings, could be permitted to be raised for the first time before the Tribunal.

Analysis: The grounds sought to be added were legal in nature and went to the jurisdiction of the authorities. The objections related to the competence of the officers who seized the goods and adjudicated the matter, and therefore did not depend on fresh factual inquiry for their basic maintainability. The Tribunal referred to decisions recognising that a pure question of law, particularly one affecting jurisdiction, may be raised at a later stage, and that the appellate forum is empowered to grant appropriate relief even if the precise ground was not taken earlier. The Tribunal distinguished authorities that dealt with waiver of jurisdictional objections on facts, noting that those rulings did not control the question of whether such legal grounds could be entertained in appeal.

Conclusion: The additional grounds were permitted to be raised, and the Misc. application was allowed.

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