TMI Blog2018 (1) TMI 824X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d - decided against appellant. - Appeal No. E/52822/2016 - Final Order No. 50165/2018 - Dated:- 16-1-2018 - Hon ble Justice (Dr) Satish Chandra, President And Hon ble Mr B.Ravichandran, Member (Technical) For the Appellant : Ms Sohani, Advocate For the Respondent : Shri R.K. Mishra, DR ORDER Per B. Ravichandran The appeal is against order dated 22.07.2016 of Commissioner (Appeals), Central Excise, Raipur. The appellants are engaged in the manufacture of sponge iron liable to Central Excise Duty. Certain verifications of stock and record were conducted by the officers in the premises of the appellant s factory on 11.01.2012. Stock verification was done and record were examined and the officers noticed shortage in var ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d on the removal of Mill Scale. The same is only a waste generated in the case of rolling of billet/bloom and it is not a manufactured item. Reliance was placed in this regard on the decision of Apex Court in Indian Aluminum Co. Limited, 2006 (293) ELT 3 SC. The demand was also contested on limitation as the notice was issued much after the verification conducted by the officers. The penalty imposed is not sustainable as there is no mala fide attributed to the appellant as the demand is based on shortages only. 3. The ld AR supported the finding of the lower authorities. He submitted that the method adopted by the appellant for recording stocks is the method followed by the officers in verifying the stock. The authorized signatory of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e shortage and not the clandestine removal, we note that such assertion is self-contradictory. First of all, they tried to reduce the significance of admission by Sh Badani stating that admission of an ordinary employee has no effect. We note that the same is not factually correct. Shri Badani is an authorized representative to represent the appellant company in taxation matters. He is Manager (Finance Accounts) of the company. Even the appeal presently filed before the Tribunal has been signed and filed only by Shri Badani. In such situation, the admission of shortage which was never retracted has substantial evidentiary value. Admittedly, Shri Badani is not an ordinary employee of the appellant. Even otherwise, we note that the appellan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... full duty liability on the very next day of detection and admission of such shortage on 11.01.2012. Further, though the appellant in the grounds of appeal, never raised the point regarding mill scale not being a manufactured product, such point was taken during the submission before the Tribunal. No finding could be recorded by the lower authorities on this fact. While raising the point, the appellant did not mention with supporting evidence the nature of process involved in the generation of mill scale and how the same can be considered as a waste/scrap, generated as an unintended by-product, during the manufacture of billet/bloom. In the absence of such details, a mere plea that the same is not a manufactured item cannot be examined by u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
