Tribunal cannot review final order under rectification powers; fresh factual reappraisal is outside the scope of apparent mistake correction.

A Tribunal cannot modify its final order under Section 35C(2) of the Central Excise Act unless there is a mistake apparent on the face of the record. Once the earlier order was passed, it became final and the Tribunal was functus officio, save for correction of an apparent error. A request based on fresh documents and a new factual foundation required reappraisal of the matter and amounted to an impermissible review of the Tribunal's own order. The application for modification was therefore not maintainable and was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal could modify its earlier final order in the absence of a mistake apparent on the face of the record under Section 35C(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The application sought recall or modification of an earlier order dismissing the appeals and denying Modvat credit. The Tribunal held that once an order is passed, it attains finality and the Tribunal becomes functus officio, except to correct an apparent mistake on the record. The grounds now urged, including fresh documents and a different factual basis, required reappraisal of the case and could not be treated as an apparent error. Such a power would amount to impermissible review of the Tribunal's own order.

Conclusion: The application for modification was not maintainable and was dismissed.

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