Home Case Index All Cases Central Excise Central Excise + HC Central Excise - 2014 (10) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2014 (10) TMI 829 - HC - Central ExcisePenalty u/s 11AC - Mens rea - Whether penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act read with Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules can be imposed when there is no finding of mens rea - Held that:- penalty may only be imposed, if failure to deposit duty is occasioned by wilful misstatement, fraud and collusion, etc., i.e. mens rea. Thus, before an adjudicating authority proceeds to levy penalty it is required to record a finding, in terms of Section 11AC(1)(a) of the Act. - A perusal of the order passed by the Assessing Authority reveals that it has treated levy of penalty as an automatic consequence of failure to pay duty, thereby rendering its order illegal, insofar as it relates to imposition of penalty. The Appellate Authority and the Tribunal failed to discern this error. - Decision in the case of Union of India v. Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills [2009 (5) TMI 15 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] followed - Decided partly in favour of assessee.
|