2012 (12) TMI 738 - AT - Central Excise

Rectification of mistake - Held that - There is no dispute of availment of credit of duty paid by the current appellant by their sister unit to whom the goods were cleared. The assessee having paid the duty liability before issuance of Show Cause Notice and there being no malafide attached to such under-valuation the interest liability confirmed by the lower authorities needs to be set aside - final Order needs rectification - nin favour of Assessee.

Summary

Issues involved: Rectification of mistake in the final order regarding liability to pay penalty and interest.

In this judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT AHMEDABAD, the issue at hand was the rectification of a mistake in the Final Order where the Tribunal had set aside the liability to pay penalty but had not addressed the interest liability. The appellant argued that since the duty paid before the Show Cause Notice could be availed as a CENVAT Credit by their sister unit, there was no revenue loss, making it a revenue-neutral situation not warranting a penalty. However, the interest liability confirmed by the lower authorities was not addressed in the original order. The Tribunal, after considering the submissions and records, acknowledged that the appellant had paid the duty before the issuance of the Show Cause Notice, and there was no malafide intent in the under-valuation that led to the differential duty payment. Citing a judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat, the Tribunal concluded that the interest liability also needed to be set aside along with the penalty. Consequently, the Tribunal rectified the Final Order to include a paragraph setting aside the interest liability as well, in line with the findings regarding the penalty. The application for rectification of mistake was disposed of accordingly.