THE CENTRAL EXCISE ACT 1944

35B. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal.- (1) Any person aggrieved by any of the following
orders may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order—

(a) a decision or order passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise as an adjudicating

(b) an order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 35A;

(c) an order passed by the Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central
Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963) (hereafter in this Chapter referred to as the Board) or
the Appellate Commissioner of Central Excise under section 35, as it stood immediately before
the appointed day;

(d) an order passed by the Board or the Commissioner of Central Excise, either before or after
the appointed day, under section 35A, as it stood immediately before that day:

Provided that no appeal shall lie to the Appellate Tribunal and the Appellate Tribunal shall not
have jurisdiction to decide any appeal in respect of any order referred to in clause (b) if such
order relates to,—

(a) a case of loss of goods, where the loss occurs in transit from a factory to a warehouse, or to
another factory, or from one warehouse to another, or during the course of processing of the
goods in a warehouse or in storage, whether in a factory or in a warehouse;

(b) a rebate of duty of excise on goods exported to any country or territory outside India or on
excisable materials used in the manufacture of goods which are exported to any country or
territory outside India;

(c) goods exported outside India (except to Nepal or Bhutan) without payment of duty;

(d) credit of any duty allowed to be utilised towards payment of excise duty on final products
under the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder and such order is passed by the
Commissioner (Appeals) on or after the date appointed under section 109 of the Finance (No. 2)
Act, 1998;

Provided further that the Appellate Tribunal may, in its discretion, refuse to admit an appeal in
respect of an order referred to in clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) where—

(i) in any disputed case, other than a case where the determination of any question having a
relation to the rate of duty of excise or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment is in
issue or is one of the points in issue, the difference in duty involved or the duty involved; or

(ii) the amount of fine or penalty determined by such order, does not exceed fifty thousand
rupees.

(1A) Every appeal against any order of the nature referred to in the first proviso to sub-section (1),
which is pending immediately before the commencement of section 47 of the Finance Act, 1984,
before the Appellate Tribunal and any matter arising out of, or connected with, such appeal and
which is so pending shall stand transferred on such commencement to the Central Government,
and the Central Government shall deal with such appeal or matter under section 35EE as if such
appeal or matter were an application or a matter arising out of an application made to it under that
section.
(1B) (i) The Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Board of
Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963) may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute such
committees as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(ii) Every Committee constituted under clause (i) shall consist of two Chief Commissioners of
Central Excise or two Commissioners of Central Excise, as the case may be.

(2) The Committee of Commissioners of Central Excise may, if it is of opinion that an order
passed by the Appellate Commissioner of Central Excise under section 35, as it stood
immediately before the appointed day, or the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 35A, is not
legal or proper, direct any Central Excise Officer authorised by him in this behalf (hereafter in this
Chapter referred to as the authorised officer) to appeal on its behalf to the Appellate Tribunal
against such order.

(3) Every appeal under this section shall be filed within three months from the date on which the
order sought to be appealed against is communicated to the Commissioner of Central Excise, or,
as the case may be, the other party preferring the appeal.

(4) On receipt of notice that an appeal has been preferred under this section, the party against
whom the appeal has been preferred may, notwithstanding that he may not have appealed
against such order or any part thereof, file, within forty-five days of the receipt of the notice, a
memorandum of cross-objections verified in the prescribed manner against any part of the order
appealed against and such memorandum shall be disposed of by the Appellate Tribunal as if it
were an appeal presented within the time specified in sub-section (3).

(5) The Appellate Tribunal may admit an appeal or permit the filing of a memorandum of cross-
objections after the expiry of the relevant period referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4), if
it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not presenting it within that period.

(6) An appeal to the Appellate Tribunal shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in the
prescribed manner and shall, irrespective of the date of demand of duty and interest or of levy of
penalty in relation to which the appeal is made, be accompanied by a fee of,—

(a) where the amount of duty and interest demanded and penalty levied by any Central Excise
Officer in the case to which the appeal relates is five lakh rupees or less, one thousand rupees;

(b) where the amount of duty and interest demanded and penalty levied by any Central Excise
Officer in the case to which the appeal relates is more than five lakh rupees, but not exceeding
fifty lakhs rupees, five thousand rupees;

(c) where the amount of duty and interest demanded and penalty levied by any Central Excise
Officer in the case to which the appeal relates is more than fifty lakh rupees, ten thousand
rupees;

Provided that no such fee shall be payable in the case of an appeal referred to in sub-section (2)
or a memorandum of cross objections referred to in sub-section (4)

(7) Every application made before the Appellate Tribunal, -

(a) in an appeal for grant of stay or for rectification of mistake or for any other purpose; or

(b) for restoration of an appeal or an application, shall be accompanied by a fee of five hundred
rupees
Provided that no such fee shall be payable in the case of an application filed by or on
behalf of the Commissioner of Central Excise under this sub section.
35C. Orders of Appellate Tribunal.- (1) The Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the parties to
the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit, confirming,
modifying or annulling the decision or order appealed against or may refer the case back to the
authority which passed such decision or order with such directions as the Appellate Tribunal may
think fit, for a fresh adjudication or decision, as the case may be, after taking additional evidence,
if necessary.

(1A) The Appellate Tribunal may, if sufficient cause is shown, at any stage of hearing of an
appeal, grant time, from time to time, to the parties or any of them and adjourn the hearing of the
appeal for reasons to be recorded in writing :

Provided that no such adjournment shall be granted more than three times to a party during
hearing of the appeal.

(2) The Appellate Tribunal may, at any time within six months from the date of the order, with a
view to rectifying any mistake apparent from record, amend any order passed by it under sub-
section (1) and shall make such amendments if the mistake is brought to its notice by the
Commissioner of Central Excise or the other party to the appeal:

Provided that an amendment which has the effect of enhancing an assessment or reducing a
refund or otherwise increasing the liability of the other party, shall not be made under this sub-
section, unless the Appellate Tribunal has given notice to him of its intention to do so and has
allowed him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(2A) The Appellate Tribunal shall, where it is possible to do so, hear and decide every appeal
within a period of three years from the date on which such appeal is filed :

Provided that where an order of stay is made in any proceeding relating to an appeal filed under
sub-section (1) of Section 35B, the Appellate Tribunal shall dispose of the appeal within a period
of one hundred and eighty days from the date of such order :

Provided further that if such appeal is not disposed of within the period specified in the first
proviso, the stay order shall, on the expiry of that period, stand vacated.

(3) The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order passed under this section to the
Commissioner of Central Excise and the other party to the appeal.

(4) Save as provided in section 35G or section 35L, orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal on
appeal shall be final.

35D. Procedure of Appellate Tribunal.- (1) The provisions of subsections (1), (2), (5) and (6) of
section 129C of the Customs Act, 1962(52 of 1962), shall apply to the Appellate Tribunal in the
discharge of its functions under this Act as they apply to it in the discharge of its functions under
the Customs Act, 1962.

(2) Omitted

(3) The President or any other member of the Appellate Tribunal authorised in this behalf by the
President may, sitting singly, dispose of any case which has been allotted to the Bench of which
he is a member where—

(a) in any disputed case, other than a case where the determination of any question having a
relation to the rate of duty of excise or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment is in
issue or is one of the points in issue, the difference in duty involved or the duty involved; or

(b) the amount of fine or penalty involved, does not exceed ten lakh rupees.
35F. Deposit, pending appeal, of duty demanded or penalty levied.- Where in any appeal
under this Chapter, the decision or order appealed against relates to any duty demanded in
respect of goods which are not under the control of central excise authorities or any penalty
levied under this Act, the person desirous of appealing against such decision or order shall,
pending the appeal, deposit with the adjudicating authority the duty demanded or the penalty
levied:

Provided that where in any particular case, the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal
is of opinion that the deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied would cause undue hardship to
such person, the Commissioner (Appeals) or, as the case may be, the Appellate Tribunal, may
dispense with such deposit subject to such conditions as he or it may deem fit to impose so as to
safeguard the interests of revenue.

Provided further that where an application is filed before the Commissioner (Appeals) for
dispensing with the deposit of duty demanded or penalty levied under the first proviso, the
Commissioner (Appeals) shall, where it is possible to do so, decide such application within thirty
days from the date of its filing.

[Explanation,-For the purpose of this section “duty demanded” shall include,-

35G. Statement of case to High Court.- (1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from every
order passed in appeal by the Appellate Tribunal on or after 1st Day of July 2003 (not being an
order relating, among other things, to the determination to the question having a relation to the
rate of duty of excise or to the value of goods for the purposes of assessment) if the High Court is
satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law.

(2) The Commissioner of Central Excise or the other party aggrieved by any order passed by the
Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court and such appeal under this sub-section
shall be -

(a) filed within one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the order appealed against is
received by the Commissioner of Central Excise or the other party.

(b) accompanied by a fee of two hundred rupees where such appeal is filed by the other party.

(c) in the form of a memorandum of appeal precisely stating therein the substantial question of
law involved.

(3) Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved in any case, it
shall formulate that question.
(4) The appeal shall be heard only on the question so formulated, and the respondent shall, at the
hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue that the case does not involve such question.

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to take away abridge the power of
Court to hear, for reasons to be recorded, the appeal or any other substantial question of law not
formulated by it, if it is satisfied that the case involves such question.

(5) The High Court shall decide the question of law so formulated and deliver such judgment
thereon containing the grounds on which decision is founded and may award such cost as it
deems fit.

(6) The High Court may determine any issue which -

(a) has not been determined by the Appellate Tribunal, or

(b) has been wrongly determined by the Appellate Tribunal, by reason of a decision of such
question of law as is referred to in sub-section (1).

(7) When an appeal has been filed before the High Court, it shall be heard by a bench of not less
than two judges of the High Court, and shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of such
judges or of the majority, if any, of such judges.

(8) Where there is no such majority, the judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ
and the case shall, then, be heard upon that point only by one or more of the other judges of High
Court and such point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the judges who
have heard the cases including those who first heard it.

(9) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of code of Civil Procedure 1908(5 of
1908), relating to the appeals of High Court shall as far as may be apply in cases of appeals
under this section.

35H. Application to High Court. - (1) The Commissioner of Central Excise or the other party
may, within one hundred and eighty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of an
order under section 35C passed before the first day of July 2003 (not being an order relating,
among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of duty of
excise or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment), by application in the prescribed
form, accompanied, where the application is made by the other party, by a fee of two hundred
rupees, apply to the High Court to direct the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any
question of law arising from such order of the Tribunal.

(2) The Commissioner of Central Excise or the other party applying to the High Court under sub-
section (1) shall clearly state the question of law which he seeks to be referred to the High Court
and shall also specify the paragraph in the order of the Appellate Tribunal relevant to the question
sought to be referred.

(3) On receipt of notice that an application has been made under sub-section (1), the person
against whom such application has been made, may, notwithstanding that he may not have filed
such application, file, within forty-five days of the receipt of the notice, a memorandum of cross-
objections verified in the prescribed manner against any part of the order in relation to which an
application for reference has been made and such memorandum shall be disposed of by the High
Court as if it were an application presented within the time specified in sub-section (1).

(4) If, on an application made under sub-section (1), the High Court directs the Appellate Tribunal
to refer the question of law raised in the application, the Appellate Tribunal shall, within one
hundred and twenty days of the receipt of such direction, draw up a statement of the case and
refer it to the High Court.
35I. Power of High Court or Supreme Court to require statement to be amended.- If the
High Court or the Supreme Court is not satisfied that the statements in a case referred to it are
sufficient to enable it to determine the questions raised thereby, the Court may refer the case
back to the Appellate Tribunal for the purpose of making such additions thereto or alterations
therein as it may direct in that behalf.

35J. Case before High Court to be heard by not less than two judges.- (1) When any case
has been referred to the High Court under section 35G or section 35H, it shall be heard by a
Bench of not less than two judges of the High Court and shall be decided in accordance with the
opinion of such judges or of the majority, if any, of such judges.

(2) Where there is no such majority, the judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ
and the case shall then be heard upon that point only by one or more of the other judges of the
High Court, and such point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the judges
who have heard the case including those who first heard it.

35K. Decision of High Court or Supreme Court on the case stated.- (1) The High Court or
the Supreme Court hearing any such case shall decide the question of law raised therein and
shall deliver its judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is founded and
a copy of the judgment shall be sent under the seal of the Court and the signature of the
Registrar to the Appellate Tribunal which shall pass such orders as are necessary to dispose of
the case in conformity with such judgment.

(1A) Where the High Court delivers a judgment in an appeal filed before it under section 35G,
effect shall be given to order passed on the appeal by the concerned Central Excise Officer on
the basis of a certified copy of the judgment.

(2) The costs of any reference to the High Court or an appeal to the High Court or the Supreme
Court, as case may be which shall not include the fee for making the reference, shall be in the
discretion of the Court.

35L. Appeal to the Supreme Court. An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from—

(a) any judgment of the High Court delivered -

(i) In an appeal made under section 35G; or

(ii) On a reference made under section 35G by the Appellate Tribunal before the first day of
July,2003;

(iii) On a reference made under section 35H,

in any case which, on its own motion or on an oral application made by or on behalf of the party
aggrieved, immediately after the passing of the judgment, the High Court certifies to be a fit one
for appeal to the Supreme Court; or

(b) any order passed before the establishment of the National Tax Tribunal by the Appellate
Tribunal relating, among other things, to the determination of any question having a relation to the
rate of duty of excise or to the value of goods for purposes of assessment.

35M. Hearing before Supreme Court.- (1) The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(5 of 1908), relating to appeals to the Supreme Court shall, so far as may be, apply in the case of
appeals under section 35L as they apply in the case of appeals from decrees of a High Court:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to affect the provisions of sub-section
(1) of section 35K or section 35N.
(2) The costs of the appeal shall be in the discretion of the Supreme Court.

(3) Where the judgment of the High Court is varied or reversed in the appeal, effect shall be given
to the order of the Supreme Court in the manner provided in section 35K in the case of a
judgment of the High Court.

35Q. Appearance by authorised representative.- (1) Any person who is entitled or required to
appear before a Central Excise Officer or the Appellate Tribunal in connection with any
proceedings under this Act, otherwise than when required under this Act to appear personally for
examination on oath or affirmation, may, subject to the other provisions of this section, appear by
an authorised representative.

(2) For the purposes of this section, "authorised representative" means a person authorised by
the person referred to in sub-section (1) to appear on his behalf, being—

(a) his relative or regular employee; or

(b) any legal practitioner who is entitled to practice in any civil court in India; or

(c) any person who has acquired such qualifications as the Central Government may prescribe
for this purpose.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, no person who was a member of the
Indian Customs and Central Excise Service -Group A and has retired or resigned from such
Service after having served for not less than three years in any capacity in that Service, shall be
entitled to appear as an authorised representative in any proceedings before a Central Excise
Officer for a period of two years from the date of his retirement or resignation, as the case may
be.

(4) No person,—

(a) who has been dismissed or removed from Government service; or

(b) who is convicted of an offence connected with any proceeding under this Act, the Customs
Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) or the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 (45 of 1968); or

(c) who has become an insolvent, shall be qualified to represent any person under sub-section
(1), for all times in the case of a person referred to in clause (a), and for such time as the
Commissioner of Central Excise or the competent authority under the Customs Act, 1962 or the
Gold (Control) Act, 1968, as the case may be, may, by order, determine in the case of a person
referred to in clause (b), and for the period during which the insolvency continues in the case of a
person referred to in clause (c).

(5) If any person,—

(a) who is a legal practitioner, is found guilty of misconduct in his professional capacity by any
authority entitled to institute proceedings against him, an order passed by that authority shall
have effect in relation to his right to appear before a Central Excise Officer or the Appellate
Tribunal as it has in relation to his right to practise as a legal practitioner;

(b) who is not a legal practitioner, is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any
proceedings under this Act by the prescribed authority, the prescribed authority may direct that he
shall thenceforth be disqualified to represent any person under sub-section (1).

(6) Any order or direction under clause (b) of sub-section (4) or clause (b) of sub-section (5) shall
be subject to the following conditions, namely:—
(a) no such order or direction shall be made in respect of any person unless he has been given a
reasonable opportunity of being heard;

(b) any person against whom any such order or direction is made may, within one month of the
making of the order or direction, appeal to the Board to have the order or direction cancelled; and

(c) no such order or direction shall take effect until the expiration of one month from the making
thereof, or, where an appeal has been preferred, until the disposal of the appeal