2001 (4) TMI 723 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Interpretation of Notification No. 33/99 dated 8-7-99 regarding duty payment submission deadline.

The Appellate Tribunal CEGAT, Kolkata heard an appeal by the Revenue against the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) order. The dispute centered around the eligibility of the respondents for the benefits of Notification No. 33/99 dated 8-7-99. The Revenue contended that the respondents failed to fulfill condition 2(a) of the Notification, which required submitting a duty paid statement to the Asst. Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner by the 7th of the following month. The Commissioner (Appeals) found all other eligibility conditions met and considered the requirement in 2(a) as procedural, thus ruling in favor of the respondents.

After careful consideration, the Tribunal found no dispute regarding the respondents' eligibility for the Notification benefits. The Revenue's objection was the late submission of the duty payment statement. The Tribunal emphasized that failure in procedural compliance should not negate substantive benefits available to the assessee. The Tribunal noted that the duty payment was reflected in the RT-12 returns filed by the respondents, which were accessible to the Revenue. The Tribunal deemed the failure to separately submit the duty paid statement as a minor lapse insufficient to deny the Notification benefits to the respondents. Consequently, the Tribunal rejected the Revenue's appeal, upholding the eligibility of the respondents for the Notification benefits.