2015 (3) TMI 375 - AT - Customs

Imposition of duty and penalty - Levy of duties and penalties on all the applicants jointly and severely - Held that - Duties cannot be confirmed jointly and severally against more than one person and penalty cannot be imposed jointly and severely on various persons. As such, by following the decision in 2013 (12) TMI 1233 - CESTAT NEW DELHI , we set aside the impugned order and remand the matter to Joint Commissioner for fresh decision, after making up his mind as to against which assessee the duty is to be confirmed. - Matter remanded back - Decided in favour of assesse.

Summary

Issues:
1. Confirmation of duties and penalties jointly and severely on multiple applicants.
2. Request for adjournment by the Revenue.
3. Decision on confirming duties and imposing penalties.
4. Tribunal's decision on joint and several confirmation of duties and penalties.
5. Disposal of stay petitions and appeals.

Confirmation of duties and penalties jointly and severely on multiple applicants:
The Appellate Tribunal, after dispensing with the pre-deposit condition, proceeded to decide the appeal where the Joint Commissioner had confirmed duties and imposed penalties on all applicants jointly and severely on three applicants. The Joint Commissioner confirmed the demand of differential Customs duty and imposed penalties on M/s. Nitin Impex, Mrs. Manu Sharma, and Shri Ajay Sharma jointly and severely under relevant sections of the Customs Act, 1962. Additionally, separate penalties were imposed on various appellants under different sections of the Customs Act.

Request for adjournment by the Revenue:
The learned AR appearing on behalf of the Revenue requested an adjournment and to fix a final date for appeals. However, the Tribunal did not find favor with this request as the law on the issue had been decided in various Tribunal decisions, and adjourning the appeals would not serve any useful purpose. The Tribunal proceeded to consider the appeal without adjournment.

Decision on confirming duties and imposing penalties:
The Joint Commissioner confirmed the demand of differential Customs duty and imposed penalties on the applicants jointly and severely under the Customs Act, 1962. The duties were calculated based on the re-determined assessable value evaded by the applicants. The penalties were imposed under specific sections of the Customs Act, with interest on the differential Customs duty from the first day of the succeeding month till the payment.

Tribunal's decision on joint and several confirmation of duties and penalties:
Referring to the Tribunal's decision in a previous case, the Tribunal held that duties cannot be confirmed jointly and severally against multiple persons, and penalties cannot be imposed jointly and severely on various individuals. Following this decision, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Joint Commissioner for a fresh decision. The Tribunal clarified that it had not gone into the merits of the case and had not expressed any opinion on the same.

Disposal of stay petitions and appeals:
The Tribunal disposed of the stay petitions and appeals after setting aside the impugned order and remanding the matter to the Joint Commissioner for a fresh decision. The adjudicating authority and the appellants were given the liberty to decide the matter accordingly and present defense submissions before the adjudicating authority for consideration.

This comprehensive analysis covers the issues of confirmation of duties and penalties, the request for adjournment, the decision on duties and penalties, the Tribunal's stance on joint and several confirmation, and the disposal of stay petitions and appeals.