Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Mumbai
Ambica Steel Rolling Mills vs Commissioner Of Central Excise And ... on 15 October, 2001
JUDGMENT Jyoti Balasundaram, Member (J)
1. This is an application for waiver of predeposit of stay of recovery of duty of Rs. 4,66,500/- and penalty of amount equal to duty. The applicants have paid a sum of Rs. 62,400/- out of the above duty amount.
2. The duty demand arises as a result of determination of the Annual Capacity of Production of the applicant which is a Hot Rolling Mills Annual Capacity Determination Rules 1997. The applicant submit that the factory was closed during the period from April 1998 to March 1999, they intimating Department about the closure, and that they applied to the Commissioner of Central Excise duty for abatement of duty for the period of closure. Hence they submitted that the duty liability does not arise against them at all. They submit that the authorities below have erred in holding that no application for abatement has filed before the appropriate authority namely the Commissioner.
3. We note on hearing both sides that in November 1999 the applicants applied for abatement. This was subsequent t the hearing granted to them by the Assistant Commissioner. We also note that the fact of having applied for abatement was not brought to the notice of the Assistant Commissioner. The applicants also did not draw the attention of the lower appellate authority whose order has been challenged before us to the fact of application for abatement due to closure. However since the applicants claim for abatement is stated to be pending before the Jurisdictional Commissioner, we are of the view that this is a fit case for waiver of predeposit of duty and penalty and stay of the recovery thereof. We order accordingly. We also direct the applicants to pursue the claim for abatement filed by them before the Commissioner and hope that such claim is disposed of as early as possible preferably within a period of three months from today.
4. Listed for mention on 10.1.2002 (Pronounced in Court)