2011 (3) TMI 1566 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Amendment in appeal memorandum for correction of date of receipt of impugned order.
2. Application for waiver of pre-deposit of duty, interest, and penalty.

Amendment in Appeal Memorandum:
The judgment allows the miscellaneous application for amending the appeal memorandum to reflect the correct date of receipt of the impugned order as 13-3-2010 instead of the erroneously mentioned 1-3-2010. This correction was deemed necessary and was permitted by the Tribunal.

Waiver of Pre-Deposit of Duty, Interest, and Penalty:
The applicants, who are manufacturers of Electronic Security and Safety equipment, developed customized software for specific customers and cleared it separately in CDs, paying duty at 8% applicable to software. The issue revolved around the classification of the software under Chapter heading 85249119 as 'software' other than non-technology software, while duty was demanded at 16% for goods under Chapter heading 84719000. The Tribunal observed that since the software was cleared and installed separately in customers' computers, the question of classification under the equipment heading did not arise. It was noted that the duty payment at 8% seemed appropriate prima facie. The judgment further mentioned that the question of whether duty was not required to be paid under a specific notification was not addressed at that stage. Consequently, the Tribunal waived the pre-deposit requirement for the differential duty, interest, and penalty, staying the recovery during the appeal proceedings.

In conclusion, the judgment addressed the issues of amending the appeal memorandum to correct the date of receipt of the impugned order and the application for waiver of pre-deposit of duty, interest, and penalty. The decision favored the applicants, emphasizing the prima facie correctness of the duty payment at 8% for the software cleared separately, leading to the waiver of pre-deposit requirements during the appeal process.