2008 (5) TMI 516 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
The issues involved in the judgment are the finalization of provisional assessments, demand of duty and education cess, issuance of show-cause notice, and the legality of the proceedings.

Finalization of Provisional Assessments:
- The appellant had two manufacturing units, one being the Component Division and the other the Horn Division.
- Components were transferred from the Component Division to the Horn Division on a provisional basis, with duty paid accordingly.
- The jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner finalized the provisional assessments, demanding differential duty and education cess.
- The Commissioner directed an appeal to be filed against the Deputy Commissioner's order.
- The department issued a show-cause notice proposing a further demand of duty and education cess, which was contested by the assessee.
- The Additional Commissioner confirmed the demands, leading to the present appeal against the Appellate Commissioner's order.

Legality of Show-Cause Notice:
- The appellant challenged the show-cause notice issued by the Joint Commissioner after the Commissioner's review order.
- The notice proposed to finalize the provisional assessments ER-1 return-wise, contrary to the Deputy Commissioner's yearwise finalization.
- The show-cause notice was issued based on the Commissioner's direction to file an appeal, not to issue a notice under Section 11A of the Act.
- The Tribunal found that the show-cause notice did not comply with the Commissioner's direction and disrupted the statutory procedure, rendering it unsustainable in law.
- Consequently, the orders of adjudication and the Appellate Commissioner were deemed unlawful.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, emphasizing that the show-cause notice issued after the Commissioner's review order for filing an appeal against the Deputy Commissioner's finalization of provisional assessments was legally unsustainable. The subsequent orders of adjudication and the Appellate Commissioner were also declared invalid.