2010 (9) TMI 1039 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
- Appeal against penalty imposed under Section 11AC of the Act upheld by Commissioner (Appeals)

Analysis:
The appellant, engaged in manufacturing motor vehicle parts, availed credit which was later found to be in the name of another unit of the appellant in the same locality. The appellant reversed the credit and interest without contesting. The appellant argued that there was no intention to evade duty as the duty-paying documents were in their name, and the address on the invoice belonged to the other unit. The Revenue contended that since the credit was wrongly taken and admitted by the appellant, they are liable for penalty.

The Tribunal referred to a Supreme Court case stating that the penalty under Section 11AC is not applicable in every case of non-payment or short-payment of duty. For the penalty to apply, specific conditions mentioned in the section must exist, such as fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts with intent to evade duty payment. The show-cause notice in this case did not allege suppression of facts to evade duty payment. It only questioned the imposition of penalty under Section 11AC without specific allegations. The invoice used for availing credit was in the appellant's name, with the address of the second unit in the same locality. The Tribunal concluded that there was no evidence of suppression or misdeclaration with intent to evade duty, thus setting aside the penalty imposed under Section 11AC and allowing the appeal.