Orders of Appellate Tribunal
Section 35C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 deals with orders of Appellate Tribunal. [35-C. 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 The Act came into force on 28 Feb 1944.
1[35-C. 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.
2[(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 3[six months] from the date of the order, with a view to rectifying any mistake apparent from the 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 4[Principal Commissioner of Central Excise or 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.
5[(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:
6[* * *]
(3) The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order passed under this section to the 4[Principal Commissioner of Central Excise or Commissioner of Central Excise] and the other party to the appeal.
(4) 7[Save as provided in the National Tax Tribunal Act, 2005] orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal on appeal shall be final.
Section 35C, The Central Excise Act, 1944 (Act 1 of 1944).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Cce, Mumbai vs Rdc Concrete (india) Private Limited
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The power of rectification under Section 35C(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is limited to correcting obvious and patent mistakes apparent from the face of the record. A mistake apparent from the record cannot be established by a long drawn process of reasoning on debatable points of law. Re-appreciation of evidence that has already been considered and reasoned upon, or changing a legal view regarding a debatable proposition, does not constitute rectification of an apparent mistake but rather constitutes an impermissible exercise of review jurisdiction. Consequently, a tribunal cannot use the rectification provision to substantially modify its earlier order on points that were fully considered and reasoned upon at first instance, even if the tribunal subsequently wishes to take a different view.
On this section: The court interpreted the rectification power as limited to 'any mistake apparent from the record' with the power to be exercised within six months. The court held that this provision does not permit re-appreciation of evidence or changing of legal views on debatable points, restricting rectification to obvious and patent mistakes.
-
Balaji Steel Re-rolling Mills vs C. C. E. & Customs
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An appellate tribunal constituted under a statute that prescribes it must decide appeals by passing orders on the merits (confirming, modifying, annulling, or remanding) cannot dismiss an appeal for want of prosecution or non-appearance of the appellant, even if procedural rules grant such discretion. The substantive statutory obligation to decide on the merits is paramount and cannot be overridden by procedural rules. The word 'thereon' in the statutory provision restricts the tribunal's power to the enumerated options available for deciding the matter on its merits.
On this section: Section 35C prescribes the orders that the Appellate Tribunal may pass after giving parties opportunity of hearing - it may confirm, modify or annul the decision appealed against, or remand the matter. The Court held that this section does not grant power to dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution, as it is not one of the enumerated options available to the Tribunal. The word 'thereon' restricts the Tribunal's jurisdiction to deciding the merits of the appeal.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
3 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 35C
What have the courts held on Section 35C of the Central Excise Act?
Cce, Mumbai vs Rdc Concrete (india) Private Limited (09 Aug 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: The court interpreted the rectification power as limited to 'any mistake apparent from the record' with the power to be exercised within six months. The court held that this provision does not permit re-appreciation of evidence or changing of legal views on debatable points, restricting rectification to obvious and patent mistakes. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2011 to 2014.
How do I find court cases under Section 35C of the Central Excise Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Central Excise Act 1944 35C, section 35C Central Excise Act 1944, section 35C of the Central Excise Act. People searching for it also type section 35c of central excise act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Cce, Mumbai vs Rdc Concrete (india) Private Limited (09 Aug 2011).
What should I read with Section 35C of the Central Excise Act, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 3 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Circular No. 1063/2/2018-CX (2018), then Notification No.32/2001-CE (N.T) (2001).
When did Section 35C of the Central Excise Act come into force?
Section 35C of the Central Excise Act, cited as Central Excise Act 1944 35C, came into force on 28 Feb 1944, having been enacted on 24 Feb 1944. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 4. Valuation of excisable goods for purposes of charging of duty of excise1751 words
- 11A. Recovery of duties not levied or not paid or short-levied or short-paid or erroneously refunded1442 words
- 11B. Claim for refund of duty and interest, if any, paid on such duty1342 words
- 35B. Appeals to the Appellate Tribunal1302 words
- 32F. Procedure on receipt of an application under Section 32-E1167 words
- 11AC. Penalty for short-levy or non-levy of duty in certain cases1093 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 18 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.