Additional grounds of appeal may be allowed when they rest on existing record and serve substantive justice.

An appellate forum may permit an additional ground of appeal where it is based on material already on record, does not require fresh evidence, and no wholly new factual foundation is introduced. Applying that principle, the Tribunal allowed amendment of the appeal because the excisability and immovable property plea had already been raised in the earlier appeal papers, though no finding had been recorded, and the omission could be cured without prejudice. The fact that the same issue had been entertained in connected matters also supported allowing the ground so the dispute could be decided on its merits.

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Issues: Whether the appellants should be permitted to raise an additional ground of appeal challenging excisability and the nature of the goods as immovable property.

Analysis: The additional ground had already formed part of the appeal memo before the lower appellate authority, but no finding was recorded on it. The request was to insert the omitted ground and corresponding facts without requiring fresh evidence. The Tribunal applied the settled principle that an appellate forum may permit a new or additional ground where it relates to material already on record and where sufficient cause is shown for the omission. It also noted that amendment is ordinarily allowed when it does not introduce a wholly new factual foundation and when justice requires that the dispute be decided on its merits. Although there was an argument that the plea would reopen classification and excisability beyond the approved classification list, the special circumstance that the same plea had been entertained in connected matters and was already part of the earlier appeal record weighed in favour of allowing the amendment.

Conclusion: The additional ground of appeal was permitted and the miscellaneous applications were allowed.

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