9911796707
TMI Blog2015 (12) TMI 660X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ring day time form 9.A.M. to 6 P.M. As per the practice, the Central Excise Officers deputed at the factory used to seal the factory premises in the evening and the factory was not supposed to operated during night. The Jurisdictional Central Excise Officers on receipt of Intelligence that the appellant are indulging in unaccounted manufacture and clandestine removal of cigarettes, visited their factory on 3rd October, 2012 at 00.30 hours. At that time, the search was conducted in presence of two independent punch witnesses. At that time, the visiting officers found that the generator of the factory was running and the lights in the factory were on. As soon as the officers entered the unit, generator was switched off by one of the staff and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted cigarettes involving duty of Rs. 5,16,525/- with option to redeem the same on redemption fine of Rs. One lakhs; and (c) imposed penalty of Rs. 67,59,091/- (6242566+516525) on the appellant confirm under Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 read with section 11AC of Central Excise Act and (d) imposed penalty of Rs. 5 lakhs on Shri Pankaj Sharma, authorized signatory and the appellant firm under Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002. 1.3 Against the above order of the Commissioner, this appeal has been filed by the appellant company. 2. Heard both the sides in respect of the stay application. 3. Shri J.P. Kaushik, Advocate, ld. counsel, for the appellant firm pleaded that the duty demand of Rs. 62,42,566/- is based purely on t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pposed the stay application by reiterating the findings of Commissioner in the impugned order and pleaded that the Jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner under his letter dated 10/02/2015 has forwarded the acknowledgment regarding receipt of the show cause notice to the appellant and co-notices and this acknowledgement clearly shows that the show cause notice was served along with all the relied upon documents; that in view of this, the Appellants plea that the relied upon documents were not supplied is factually incorrect; that in any case, since the duty demand in this case is based on the shortage of finished cigarettes in the course of the stock taking on 03/10/2012 and since the stock taking had been conducted in presence of the punch wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Excise Officers visited the unit along with two punch witnesses at 00.30 hours, the factory was found to be working inasmuch as the generator was running. The fact that on the arrival of the Central Excise Officers, the labourers including the authorized signatory switched off the generator and running away taking advantage of the darkness and that subsequently when the officers switched on the generator and the lights, and inspected the factory, they found that seals of the machines had been broken and the same were being operated, as also not disputed. It is also a fact that when the stock taking of the stock of the finished goods was conducted, there was huge shortage in the stock of the finished cigarettes on which the duty involved was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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