2005 (12) TMI 428 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues: Lack of supply of relied upon documents, Compliance with principles of natural justice

The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi was filed by Rajasthan Foils Pvt. Ltd. & Shri Siddhartha Sharma against the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) dated 12-8-05. The main issue raised was the non-supply of relied upon documents to the appellants despite repeated requests. The counsel for the appellants highlighted this issue, stating that the copies of relied upon documents had not been provided by the authorities. On the other hand, the Authorized Representative of the Department referred to Para 8 of the impugned order, arguing that the principle of natural justice had been followed as the copies of all relied upon documents were supplied along with the show cause notice. The Commissioner (Appeals) rejected the allegation of non-supply of documents, stating that no evidence had been shown by the appellants to prove that the adjudicating authority had been requested to supply the documents and denied to do so. The Commissioner found that the adjudication authority had followed the principles of natural justice.

However, the Tribunal found it paradoxical that the Noticees were asked to produce evidence of non-receipt of documents, while the Department did not provide any receipts obtained from the Noticees when serving the relied upon documents. The Tribunal emphasized the importance of the Administration being both responsible and responsive in providing documents to the concerned parties. The Department's failure to produce receipts confirming the delivery of relied upon documents raised doubts about the compliance with natural justice. The Tribunal noted the lack of remote compliance with natural justice in the proceedings against the appellants. Consequently, an interim stay of the impugned order was granted, and the amount demanded was waived until the matter was taken up for final hearing.

In conclusion, the Tribunal disposed of the application, emphasizing the need for proper compliance with the principles of natural justice in proceedings against the appellants. The lack of evidence of document delivery and the failure to demonstrate compliance with natural justice led to the interim stay of the impugned order. The Tribunal's decision highlighted the importance of ensuring fairness and transparency in administrative proceedings to uphold the principles of natural justice.