Fair procedure in classification disputes requires disclosure of adverse technical reports before reclassification is sustained.

Classification of fluorescent paper and paper board was found procedurally unsustainable because the Chemical Examiner's report, which formed the basis of the adverse reclassification, had not been disclosed to the assessee. Since the report was neither referred to in the show-cause notice nor supplied in full, and the query to the examiner was unclear, the assessee was denied a fair opportunity to test the material used against it. The adjudication was therefore held to be vitiated by breach of fair procedure, and the matter was remanded for fresh classification after supplying the report and hearing the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the classification dispute required remand because the Chemical Examiner's report, relied upon in adjudication, had not been disclosed to the assessee, thereby denying a fair opportunity to meet the material used against it.

Analysis: The classification of fluorescent paper and paper board was changed by the adjudicating authority on the basis of the Chemical Examiner's report, but the report itself was neither referred to in the show-cause notice nor furnished to the assessee. The full text of the report was also not available before the appellate forum, and the query posed to the Chemical Examiner was unclear. In these circumstances, the assessee was unable to effectively test the basis of the adverse classification finding, and the adjudication was vitiated by breach of fair procedure.

Conclusion: The order was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh classification after supplying the full Chemical Examiner's report and giving the assessee an opportunity of hearing.

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