9911796707
TMI Blog2013 (6) TMI 559X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er dated 22.9.2011 passed by CESTAT, West Zonal Branch, Mumbai, whereby the said Tribunal has dismissed its Appeal and upheld the liability of present assessee to pay interest under Section 11 AB by following the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court reported in 2010 (250) E.L.T. 3 (SC) - Commissioner of Central Excise v. International Auto Ltd. 3. In the present case, clearance of goods at a price prevailing on the said date and payment of duty accordingly is not in dispute. Existence of price variation clause is also not in dispute. The fact that price was later on hiked and the assessee then raised demand and also paid the differential duty is also not in dispute. Mr.Kapoor points out that during audit of department it was discovered that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g for the Department states that the judgment delivered by Karnata High Court is not a final word and the Hon'ble Apex Court has only dismissed the S.L.P. and therefore there is no judgment by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the matter. He submits that the judgment in the matter of S.K.F. India Ltd. (supra) as applied by the Hon'ble Apex Court later on in the matter of International Auto Ltd. (supra) is the final judgment and the same therefore needs to be applied. He submits that this later judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court is looked into by the CESTAT in the impugned order and hence there is no scope for interference. According to him, in the present situation, the assessee ought to have sought provisional clearance and then only he might have ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... allenge in W.P. No. 3389/07, mere order admitting it is of no use. 9. The assessee is placing reliance upon the adjudication by the Division Bench of Karnataka High Court. The judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in SKF India Ltd. has been looked into and distinguished by the Karnataka High Court in para 7. The High Court found that the increased price became payable and recoverable by virtue of later revision of prices and, therefore, on the date the goods were cleared, the differential duty became payable. In fact, before it, the High Court noticed that the goods were initially cleared on price then prevailing and appropriate duty was paid. Subsequently, there was price escalation due to increase in labour inputs and other costs which was dete ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his own ascertainment or as ascertained by a Central Excise Officer and, in that event, such assessee in default would not be served with the Demand Notice under Section 11A(1) of the Act. However, Explanation (2) to the subsection makes it clear that such payment would not be exempt from interest chargeable under Section 11AB of the Act. What is stated in Explanation (2) to subsection 2(B) is reiterated in Section 11AB of the Act, which deals with interest on delayed payment of duty. From the scheme of Section 11A(2B) and Section 11AB of the Act, it becomes clear that interest is levied for loss of revenue on any count. In the present case, one fact remains undisputed, namely, accrual of price differential. What does differential price sig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th May, 1983 level and on that account, price differential arose on the basis of which the assessee claimed refund of excise duty which stood rejected by this Court on the ground that once the assessee had cleared the goods on classification, the assessee became liable to payment of duty on the date of removal and subsequent reduction in the prices for whatever reason cannot be made a matter of concern to the Department insofar as the liability to pay excise duty was concerned. In the present case, we are concerned with the imposition of interest which, as stated above, is charged to compensate the Department for loss of revenue. Be that as it may, as stated above, the Scheme of Section 11A of the Act has since undergone substantial change ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
