2002 (9) TMI 605

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..... e Respondent.  [Order]. -  The above captioned appeals have been filed by the appellants against the common impugned order of the Commissioner of Central Excise who had imposed penalty of Rs. 5 lakhs each on them under Rule 209A of the Rules. 2. The facts are not much in dispute. The appellants no. 1 and 3 constitute one transport company. They have got one at Surat and the other .....

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..... signees, while others are still in the custody of the Excise Authorities. The names in the GRs of the consignors and consignees were found to be incomplete. The appellants had been panalised under Rule 209A of the Central Excise Rules for having transported the goods with the knowledge that those were cleared without payment of duty by the manufacturers. 3. The learned Counsel has mainly con .....

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..... the time of booking of the goods at Surat, the companies were under no legal obligation to enquire about the duty paid character of the goods. They were only concerned with the invoices and the GRs. There is nothing on the record to suggest that if they had any knowledge that the goods booked with them had been cleared without payment of duty by the manufacturers. The goods were got booked with t .....

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..... on-duty paid character of the goods transported by them. The goods were never lifted by them from the factory premises of the manufacturers for transportation. These were rather booked at their offices by third parties and they were under no legal obligation to enquire about the duty paid character of the goods from those parties. From the mere acceptance of goods for transportation from Surat to .....

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..... , Madras, 1996 (86) E.L.T. 245 (T). 8. Therefore, keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, and the discussion made above, no case for imposition of penalty under Rule 209A of the Rules is made out against any of the appellants. The impugned order of the Commissioner is, therefore, set aside against the appellants in toto. The appeals of the appellants accordingly stand allowe .....

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