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2017 (10) TMI 1366 - HC - Central ExciseOrder passed by the Settlement Commissioner in Settlement case - manufacturing and packing of Om Brand unmanufactured tobacco - The levy of Central Excise duty is not on the basis of its clearance but is on the basis of compounded levy scheme for chewing tobacco and unmanufactured tobacco - The Settlement Commission, allowed the settlement on petitioners paying full duty of ₹ 3 crores and only reduction was granted in penalty and protection was granted qua prosecution. Held that:- The power of the Settlement Commission is essentially probing into the extinguishing circumstances that has been pleaded and examined the material placed before it by the assessee and came to its own conclusion, which is not an adjudicatory powers to access the less power to examine and give its findings qua the fact of the assessee which would indicate that Settlement Commissioner has applied its mind to the aspect pleaded and circumstances placed along with the documents in support thereof. The Settlement Commission coming to the conclusion on a premise that as per Tobacco machine, Commission is not examining the aspect of consumption of electricity, raw material etc., would paid into insignificance is not borne out by close perusal of the Rules, more specifically Rule 6(iii), who has by way of employment of language i.e. ‘operating machine’, the said would presupposes that there is merely an existence of machine in the factory would in own strength is not making authority entitled to count the machine capacity for slapping the duty and word ‘operating machine’ would receive to take into consideration only the operating machine and even there is a specific plea that machine was not operating, it was bounden duty casted upon to clarify and examine the material placed on record and said material are available or not in that regard, the commission has to give its findings. The matter is required to be remanded back to the Settlement Commission for its reconsideration - petition allowed by way of remand.
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