2011 (9) TMI 1119 - HC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Determination of duty payable under the Central Excise Act.

Summary:

Issue 1: Assessment of duty payable
The Tribunal set aside the demand on the grounds that the assessee had already paid the duty as per law, leading to relief being granted to the assessee. The demand was initially for &8377; 58,09,607/- based on 108 invoices, but after the assessee pointed out that they had paid &8377; 33,89,224/-, a revised demand of &8377; 24,55,273/- based on 52 invoices was raised.

Issue 2: Application of Ujagar Prints formula
In a previous round of litigation, the Tribunal directed the authorities to assess the demand using the Ujagar Prints formula. The assessee had paid duty incorrectly based on the manufacturer's sale price, whereas as per the formula, they were liable to pay &8377; 9,89,248/-. The assessee had already paid &8377; 9,32,364/-, with the balance payable being only &8377; 50,884/-, which was also paid. Consequently, the assessee was found not liable to pay any further duty.

Issue 3: Duty payable based on sale price of manufacturer
The revenue argued that duty should be payable based on the sale price of the manufacturer. However, the determination of duty payable under the Act falls under Section 130(L) of the Central Excise Act, as per the decision in the case of COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE vs. M/s MANGALORE REFINERIES AND PETRO CHEMICALS LIMITED. The High Court rejected the appeal, stating it was not maintainable and reserving the liberty for the appellant to appeal to the Apex Court for further consideration. All other contentions raised by the revenue were kept open for future litigation.

The High Court directed the registry to return the certified copy of the Tribunal's order and other relevant documents to the appellant.