2009 (4) TMI 676 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Denial of natural justice due to lack of opportunity to file a detailed reply to show cause notice.
2. Waiver of pre-deposit requirement due to unavailability of relevant documents.
3. Remand of the matter to the Commissioner for de novo disposal after providing an opportunity to file a reply to the show cause notice.

Analysis:

1. The judgment addressed the issue of denial of natural justice to the appellant as they were not given the opportunity to file a detailed reply to the show cause notice. The appellant argued that there was a total denial of natural justice by the lower authority due to the failure of the department to provide the documents seized by them. The Tribunal acknowledged that the appellant could not be expected to respond without access to their relevant documents. Therefore, the Tribunal waived the requirement of pre-deposit and decided to dispose of the appeal without delving into the merits of the case at the appellate stage.

2. The Tribunal noted that the appellants were only recently provided with copies of the relevant documents during the appeal process. It was recognized that without these documents, the appellants could not have prepared a reply to the show cause notice. The advocate for the appellant assured that they would cooperate if given the opportunity to file a reply. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Commissioner for fresh disposal after allowing the appellant to file a reply to the show cause notice within a specified timeframe.

3. The judgment emphasized the importance of expeditiously resolving the matter, considering the prolonged duration since the issuance of the show cause notice in 1993. The Tribunal instructed the appellant to file the reply within four months and directed the authority to conclude the proceedings before a specified date in 2010. The parties were urged to provide necessary cooperation for a swift resolution. Ultimately, the appeal and application were disposed of with the remand order for further proceedings in accordance with the directions provided by the Tribunal.