2009 (1) TMI 99 - HC - Central Excise

Whether Tribunal has erred in disallowing Revenue s appeal when it is a settled law that confessional statements have evidentiary value difference in stock - statement of partner tribunal finding that it is not a case where any private records indicating the actual production in excess of what has been accounted for in the statutory records, were recovered - no authority has stated that a confessional statement has no evidentiary value finding of tribunal require no interference

Summary

The High Court of Gujarat dismissed an appeal filed by the Revenue against an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. The case involved an assessee engaged in the manufacture of Polyester Textured Yarn. The Revenue argued that the confessional statement of the partner of the unit, admitting to the use of antistatic oil in production, should be considered as evidence. However, the Commissioner (Appeals) found that there was no further corroboration of the statement, and the adjudicating authority's order was non-speaking and lacked discussion. The Tribunal upheld the Commissioner's findings, stating that there was no evidence supporting the estimated gain of 1.5% in production. The Tribunal concluded that the confessional statement, in this case, had no evidentiary value. As the Tribunal's decision was based on the available material, the High Court found no substantial question of law to consider and dismissed the appeal.