2023 (7) TMI 1340 - AT - Central Excise

Violation of principles of natural justice - non-furnishing of documents to the appellant in spite of repeated requests - levy of penalty - HELD THAT - The main contention put forward by the appellant is regarding violation of principles of natural justice and therefore it is considered that it would be beneficial to ensure that the documents are supplied to the appellant. The department is directed to file a report as to whether the documents stated in para-2 of latter dated 29.07.2011 can be supplied to the appellant. Awaiting report of the department the matter is adjourned to 21.09.2023.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are non-supply of relied upon documents, non-return of non-relied upon documents, and violation of principles of natural justice.

Non-supply of relied upon documents:
The appellant argued that the relied upon documents were not supplied to him as required under Rule 24A of CER 2002. Despite repeated requests, the documents were not furnished, including the image version of the hard disc. The appellant highlighted letters dated 09.10.2012 and 29.07.2011 to support his claim that the documents were not provided to him.

Non-return of non-relied upon documents:
In addition to the issue of non-supply of relied upon documents, the appellant also raised concerns about the non-return of non-relied upon documents. The appellant emphasized the need for all documents to be either returned or supplied to him, as per the requirements outlined in the letters dated 29.07.2011.

Violation of principles of natural justice:
The appellant contended that there was a violation of principles of natural justice in the proceedings. To address this concern, the Bench directed the department to verify and report on whether the documents mentioned in the letter dated 29.07.2011 could be supplied to the appellant. The matter was adjourned to 21.09.2023 pending the department's report.