2013 (11) TMI 1537 - AT - Central Excise

Waiver of pre deposit - Remission of duty - Goods destroyed in fire - Held that - Undisputedly there was an incident of fire in the factory premises of the applicant on 22-11-2009. We find that following the procedure laid down under Rule 21 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, after the incident of fire in their factory, a remission application was filed by the applicant seeking remission from payment of duty on the goods destroyed in the incident of fire, inside the factory, before its clearance on payment of duty. In the meantime the department has also issued demand notice against the applicant on the goods lost in fire to protect the interest of Revenue. - applicant has not filed any appeal against the rejection of remission application but challenged the confirmation of demand, a fall out and mechanical implementation of the Order of rejection of the remission application. We find that the confirmation of demand on the goods destroyed by fire, resulted out of the rejection of their remission application. We are of the view that since the applicants have not preferred any appeal against the Order rejecting their remission application, the observation of the Commissioner on the submissions/evidences advanced by the applicants, during the said proceeding become final. - applicant could not be able to make out a prima facie case for total waiver of pre-deposit of dues adjudged. - Partial stay granted.

Summary

Issues:
1. Waiver of pre-deposit of duty and penalty due to destruction of finished goods in a fire incident.
2. Rejection of remission application by the Jurisdictional Commissioner and subsequent confirmation of duty demand.
3. Appeal against the confirmation of duty demand and the argument for separate examination of duty recovery and remission proceedings.
4. Financial hardship expressed by the applicant and the directive for depositing 25% of the confirmed excise duty.

Analysis:
1. The applicant sought a waiver of pre-deposit of duty amounting to Rs. 8,11,54,600 and a penalty of Rs. 2,00,00,000 due to the destruction of finished goods in a fire incident. The Advocate for the applicant argued that the outbreak of fire led to the destruction of goods, prompting the filing of a remission application as per Rule 21 of Central Excise Rules, 2002. The Jurisdictional Commissioner rejected the remission application, leading to a confirmation of the duty demand. The applicant expressed that the financial burden of pre-deposit would be severe due to the heavy losses incurred post-fire incident and subsequent closure of the company.

2. The Additional Commissioner for Revenue upheld the rejection of the remission application, emphasizing that the confirmation of the duty demand was a consequence of the rejection order. The Commissioner contended that since no appeal was filed against the rejection order, it was binding, and the confirmation of demand could not be challenged.

3. The Tribunal analyzed the situation, acknowledging the incident of fire and the subsequent rejection of the remission application. It was noted that while no appeal was made against the rejection order, an appeal was lodged against the confirmation of the duty demand. The Tribunal recognized the separate nature of duty recovery and remission proceedings, but highlighted that the confirmation of demand stemmed from the rejection of the remission application. Considering the financial hardship expressed by the applicant, the Tribunal directed a deposit of 25% of the confirmed excise duty within eight weeks to stay the recovery of the remaining dues during the appeal process.

4. In conclusion, the Tribunal found that the rejection of the remission application could not be revisited at that stage due to the lack of an appeal. The directive for a partial deposit was based on balancing the interests of the Revenue with the financial constraints of the applicant, following established legal principles regarding stay applications. The non-compliance with the deposit requirement would result in the dismissal of the appeal without further notice, with a reporting deadline set for compliance.