2000 (5) TMI 374

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..... ndents. [Order per : V.K. Ashtana, Member (T)]. -  To get this appeal heard, the delay of 775 days in filing the appeal and condonation thereof needs our consideration. Heard Shri R. Raghavan, ld. Advocate for the appellants and Shri M. Kunhi Kannan, ld. DR. 2. The matter relates to the determination of Annual Capacity of Production under Section 3A and the relevant rules made thereun .....

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..... ery proceedings will be initiated as per Rule 5 of the said rules and therefore the present appellants had received 4 show cause notices demanding certain sums of money based on the order of the Commissioner communicated by the Assistant Commissioner noted above. On receipt of the said notices, the appellants requested the Asstt. Commissioner for withdrawal of the notices in the light of the Tribu .....

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..... sitting in adjudication proceedings, therefore the application for condonation of delay itself is infructuous there being no speaking Order-in-Original on record on the date the matter was condered by the Tribunal. Ld. Advocate submits that the Tribunal in that Final order had further proceeded to remand the matter to the ld. Commissioner directing that an appropriate speaking order may be issued .....

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..... the Annual Capacity of the appellants' unit under Section 3A and the rules made thereunder after consideration of their declaration filed before him. However, the said decision has not been communicated by the Commissioner in the form of a speaking order. Section 3A empowers only a Commissioner of Central Excise to do so. A similar situation was considered by us in the case of Triveni Alloys Ltd. .....

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..... ch lay on a short compass. We remand the matter back to the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise for a de novo consideration of the same and for re-fixing the Annual Capacity through a speaking order after compliance of the procedure involved including principles of natural justice in an adjudication proceeding in terms of the powers conferred upon him by Section 3A. The appeal is allowed .....

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