Statutory right prevails over delegated rules in duty redetermination, and remand directions must be followed.

A delegated rule cannot curtail a statutory right conferred by the parent Act, so actual production had to be considered for duty redetermination under the statute despite the assessee's option under Rule 96ZO(3). The Tribunal also stressed that a subordinate authority must comply with binding remand directions and cannot disregard them on the ground of disagreement; if it is dissatisfied, it must seek relief from a higher forum. Accordingly, the Commissioner was required to redetermine duty on the basis of actual production after hearing the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of redetermination of duty on the basis of actual production under Section 3A(4) could be denied on the ground that the assessee had opted for payment of duty under Rule 96ZO(3), and whether the Commissioner was bound to give effect to the Tribunal's remand directions.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that the earlier remand required the Commissioner to take the actual production of the assessee into account and to redetermine duty accordingly after giving an opportunity of hearing. The Commissioner, however, proceeded on the footing that Section 3A(4) could not be invoked because of the assessee's option under Rule 96ZO(3). The Tribunal found this approach to be contrary to judicial discipline, since a subordinate authority cannot disregard the binding remand order and, if dissatisfied, must seek remedy before the higher forum. It further held that where a rule conflicts with the parent statute, the rule cannot curtail the statutory right granted by the section.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to consideration of actual production under Section 3A(4), and the denial of that benefit on the basis of Rule 96ZO(3) was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The duty liability was required to be reconsidered by the Commissioner on the basis of actual production after hearing the assessees, and the appeals succeeded by way of remand.

Ratio Decidendi: A delegated rule cannot override or curtail a statutory right conferred by the parent Act, and a subordinate authority must comply with binding remand directions while redetermining duty under the statute.

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