2005 (8) TMI 554 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether the Tribunal's Final Order in favor of the appellants precludes the Revenue from detaining goods and demanding duty.
2. Whether the direction to pay 8% of the value on the final product is sustainable despite the Tribunal's finding of no manufacture.

Analysis:
1. The appellants filed a miscellaneous application challenging the detention of goods by the Revenue despite a Final Order in their favor by the Tribunal. The appellants argued that since the Tribunal held there was no manufacture, the duty liability is nil, and there is no basis for the detention. The Revenue sought an adjournment to respond. The Tribunal noted the categorical finding that there was no process of manufacture, and the item falls under Chapter Heading 2108.99. Consequently, the demand for 8% of the value on the final product, based on a "Nil" rate of duty, was deemed incorrect. The Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellants, vacating the detention order, and allowed the miscellaneous application.

2. The Tribunal's detailed analysis considered the submissions of both parties and the Final Order. It concluded that the Tribunal's finding of no manufacture and classification under Chapter Heading 2108.99 contradicted the Revenue's basis for demanding payment of 8% of the value on the final product. The Tribunal's decision to vacate the detention order was based on the clear interpretation that the duty liability being nil precludes the imposition of such a payment requirement. The Tribunal's ruling in favor of the appellants was grounded in the correct understanding of the Final Order and the absence of any manufacturing process, leading to the allowance of the miscellaneous application and the subsequent vacation of the detention order.