Provisional assessment orders under customs rules are not appealable merely because they affect the assessee.

An order directing provisional assessment under Rule 173C and requiring a bond under Rule 9B, made where the proper officer is satisfied that enquiry is necessary, is not an appealable order merely because it affects the assessee. The officer may modify the declared value to conform to Section 4 and call for supporting documents; if the assessee fails to furnish them, the statutory discretion remains administrative rather than adjudicatory. The phrase "any decision or order" in the appellate provision is to be read narrowly, so a provisional assessment direction does not fall within its scope.

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Issues: Whether the Assistant Collector's order directing provisional assessment and calling for bond was an appealable order.

Analysis: Rule 173C empowered the proper officer to modify the value declared by the assessee so as to conform to Section 4, and, where enquiry was considered necessary, to direct provisional assessment and require execution of bond under Rule 9B. The assessee had failed to furnish the required documents and information, and the order of the Assistant Collector showed application of the statutory requirements. An order made in exercise of such a statutory discretion could not be equated with a general adjudicatory order merely because it affected the assessee. The expression "any decision or order" in the appellate provision had to be read narrowly, and an order directing provisional assessment did not fall within its ambit.

Conclusion: The Assistant Collector's order was not appealable, and the Revenue's appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: An order directing provisional assessment under Rule 173C and Rule 9B, made on the proper officer's statutory satisfaction that enquiry is required, is not an appealable order merely because it affects the assessee.

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