M/S. Indian Spring Company vs Cce, Coimbatore on 4 November, 2013
24. While returns filed with sales tax department can at best show that the two units were doing trading activity since the manufacturing facilitiessince those dates. However the returns filed with central excise department cannot be brushed aside. It is difficult to accept the contention of Revenue that when M/s BMI was audited for 1988-89 and 1989-90 the existence of the two units side by side could not have been noticed. Revenue had accepted subsequent returns by BMI and declarations by ISC without any questions being raised. The argument adopted by the lower authorities that only BMI had registration and ISC was only filing declaration as a small scale unit having turnover within the fully exempted limit cannot change the position because at least BMI was registered which implied visits by officers at least on an annual basis and being regularly audited as evidenced by papers produced by the appellant.The objection that is being raised now by Revenue is of a type which could be noticed during routine visits and audit of one unit itself. The adjudicating authority had relied on the observation of the Tribunal in Alembic Glass Industries Vs. CCE -1994 (73) ELT 579. But in that case the relevant information was about share holding pattern in two companies by different persons. Here the relevant fact is one of availability of machines which becomes apparent on visual inspection. On the contrary in a few cases the Tribunal has held that extended period of time cannot be invoked for demanding duty by clubbing the clearances of the two units when relevant facts are known to the department. The following decisions are relevant: