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2018 (8) TMI 1336 - AT - Central ExciseLiability of Excise duty - manufacture of branded jeans - whether the statements of the buyers can be used against the Appellants despite the facts that those statements are hit by the provisions of Section 9D of the Central Excise Act, 1944? Held that:- From the facts of the present case it is clear that the witnesses, of whom the statements have been relied upon by the department, have not been examined by the department before the Adjudicating Authority - The evidentiary value of the statements, insofar as proving the truth of the contents thereof is concerned, is completely lost, unless and until the case falls within the four corners of Section 9D(1). In the absence of the circumstances specified in Section 9D (1), the truth of the facts contained in any statement, recorded before a Gazetted Central Excise officer, has to be proved by evidence other than the statement itself. In the present case, the Adjudicating Authority has not invoked clause (a) of Sub-Section (1) of Section 9D of the Act, and also has not recorded anywhere that the attendance of the makers of the said statements, which have been used against the Appellants, could not be obtained for any of the reasons contemplated by Section 9D of the Act. That being so, it was not open to the Adjudicating Authority to rely upon the said statements without following the mandatory procedure contemplated by Section 9D of the Act - the Adjudicating Order has been passed in violation of the mandatory procedure prescribed by Section 9D of the Act. Matter remanded back to the adjudicating authority for de-novo adjudication after following the procedure as contemplated under section 9D of the Central Excise Act, 1944 - appeal allowed by way of remand.
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