Appealability of RT-12 assessments: dismissal as a nullity was unsustainable, and rehearing was required.

RT-12 assessments fastening duty liability were treated as appealable orders under the Central Excise framework then in force, and there was no requirement for separate appeals merely because multiple assessments were involved. The first appellate authority should not have dismissed the matter as a nullity without examining the merits, and if any defect in form existed, the appellants could have been asked to cure it. The dismissal was therefore unsustainable, and the matter had to be reheard and decided afresh without insisting on multiple appeals.

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Issues: Whether the Collector (Appeals) was justified in dismissing the appeal as a nullity on the ground that separate appeals were required for multiple RT-12 assessments and that no appeal lay against the assessments.

Analysis: The assessments reflected in the RT-12s were treated as appealable orders or decisions since duty liability had been fastened on the appellants. There was no provision in the Central Excise law then in force requiring separate appeals merely because several assessments were involved. At the highest, if multiple appeals were thought necessary, the appellants could have been directed to cure that defect. The first appellate authority also did not examine the facts or merits of the demand.

Conclusion: The dismissal of the appeal as a nullity was unsustainable, and the matter was required to be reheard and decided afresh without insisting on multiple appeals.

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