2012 (5) TMI 556 - AT - Central Excise

Demands on ethanol blended petrol - Held that - under Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, the Central Govt. issued Notification No. 25/2006-CE dt 20/11/2006 exempting the above product from payment of the aforesaid duties of excise for the period from 1/7/2004 to 3/8/2004. Obviously, this Notification was issued during the pendency of the present appeal - Section 11C Notification of the Govt., the respondent has no liability to pay the aforesaid duties of excise demanded by the appellant - Decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues: Dropping of demands for various excise duties for a specific period

In this judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT BANGALORE, the appeal filed by the department was against the dropping of demands for various excise duties for the period from 1/7/2004 to 3/8/2004 by the adjudicating authority. The demands included BED, SED, AED, SAD of excise, and Education Cess leviable under different sections of the relevant Acts. The demands were raised on ethanol blended petrol classified under Heading 27.10 of the Central Excise Tariff Act. The product was exempted from these duties before and after the mentioned period but not during the period in question.

The Tribunal noted that the Central Government, under Section 11C of the Central Excise Act, issued Notification No. 25/2006-CE on 20/11/2006, exempting the product from payment of the excise duties for the period from 1/7/2004 to 3/8/2004. This notification was issued while the appeal was pending. Due to the issuance of this notification, the respondent was found not liable to pay the demanded excise duties. Consequently, the appeal filed by the department was dismissed. The operative portion of the order was pronounced in open court at the conclusion of the hearing.