CESTAT Quashes Excise Duty Demand on Manufacture of IPCO creamy snuff on ground of Limitation [Read Order]

The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) quashed the excise duty demand on the manufacture of IPCO creamy snuff on the grounds of limitation. 

Asha Industries, the appellant assessee was a partnership firm comprising Indubhai M Patel, Devangbhai R Patel, and Naynaben M Patel were engaged in the manufacture of IPCO creamy snuff falling under the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 in their factory Nadiad and obtained Central Excise Registration in the name of the Partnership firm. 

Three partners were endorsed on the reverse of the Registration Certificate and the manufactured by the assessee were sold in the local market. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the adjudicating authority for confirming the excise duty demand and for the imposition of a penalty. 

S.P. Mathew, the counsel for the assessee contended that from the chain of the correspondence made with the department informing about the partners and the proprietor of the manufacturer assessee and the buyer, and all the letters were acknowledged by the department, there was no suppression of fact on the part of the assessee, therefore the demand was time-barred. 

R K Agrawal, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the demand raised was as lee the law and liable to be sustained. 

The Bench observed that the entire demand was beyond the normal period of limitation. Hence the same was not sustainable on the grounds of time bar and the demand itself was not sustainable, penalties on the assessees also not be sustainable. 

The two-member bench comprising Ramesh Nair (Judicial) and Raju (Technical) quashed the excise duty demand while allowing the appeal filed by the assessee. 

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates