Clearance of Excisable Goods without Payment of Duty which Resulted into Evasion of Excise Duty by Manufacturer of “Chhakkdo Rickshaw”: CESTAT upholds Penalty [Read Order]

The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) upheld the penalty imposed on clearance of excisable goods without payment of duty by the manufacturer of the chhakkdo rickshaw.

Karimbhai Nanjibhai Shah, the appellant assessee, is engaged in the manufacturer of the “Chhakkdo Rickshaw” and cleared the goods to the Shree. Rajshakti Automobiles, Ahmedabad.

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the adjudicating authority for confirming the penalty of Rs. 1,00,000/- imposed on the assessee under Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Vipul Khandhar, the counsel for the assessee, contended that Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules had wrongly been invoked by the adjudicating authority for the imposition of a penalty against the assessee.

It was also submitted that the assessee had not engaged in any of the activities of transportation, removing, depositing, keeping, concealing, selling, or purchasing any excisable goods, and therefore the adjudicating authority should not have imposed a penalty on the assessee under Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules.

P. Ganesan, the counsel for the department, relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the assessee was liable for the penalty imposed by the revenue.

The Bench observed that the assessee was conscientious by providing his Automotive Research Association of India registration to the manufacturer or buyers of non-duty Rickshaws for getting the same registered with the Regional Transport Officer (RTO), and the assessee facilitated the clearance of excisable goods without the payment of duty, which ultimately resulted in the evasion of the Central Excise Duty by the manufacturer of the “Chhakkdo Rickshaw”.

A single-member bench comprising C. L. Mahar (technical) upheld the penalty imposed against the assessee under Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules while dismissing 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