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2022 (11) TMI 451 - AT - Central ExciseRemission of Excise duty - main contention of the adjudicating authority in rejecting the remission application is that fire was avoidable and due to not taking proper care by the appellant, the fire took place, therefore fire incident is not due to unavoidable circumstances - HELD THAT:- The appellant have been regularly installing the firefighting equipment in their factory from 1987-2014. The fire took place in the factory on 07.01.2017. The contention of the adjudicating authority is that the appellant have not made any expenditure towards firefighting measures from 2014 onwards and that is the reason the fire has taken place. The said contention of the learned adjudicating authority cannot be agreed for the reason that once all the firefighting equipment have been installed in the factory i.e. upto January 2014, only in case of any need the firefighting equipment is required. Only because there is no expenditure in respect of firefighting measures after 2014, it cannot be said that the appellant have not equipped their factory with firefighting measures. There is absolutely no adverse remark in any of the various reports made in respect of the incident of fire in the factory. Be it of Inspector of Police, Fire Brigades, Deputy Director, Industrial Health and Safety Industry, Nagarpalika and from various reports, it is clear that the fire incident has taken place due to short circuit. The short circuit is clearly beyond the control of anyone and it is general that in majority of cases fire takes place due to short circuit and the same cannot be predicted by anyone in advance - the appellant have taken abundant precaution as regard firefighting measure and there is no lapse on the part of the appellant to hold that the fire incident could have been avoided. Valuation of goods - price for the purpose of insurance claim was enhanced from Rs. 139 per KG to Rs. 149.16 per KG - HELD THAT:- From the calculation, it is absolutely clear that this enhancement does not include the excise duty. The enhancement is only due to inclusion of various expenses such as marketing and selling expenses, therefore, it is beyond doubt that the appellant have not included the amount of Central Excise duty. Therefore, on this count also the remission of duty cannot be varied or denied. The appellant is entitled for remission of duty in respect of final product lost or destroyed in fire incident. Needless to say that the appellant needs to reverse the cenvat credit in respect of the inputs, if any availed, contained in the final product in respect of which the remission is sought for - Appeal allowed.
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