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Issues: Appeal against duty demand and penalty imposition under Notification No. 60/88-C.E. for newsprint clearance without payment of duty.
Analysis: 1. The appeal was made against the Order-in-original demanding duty and penalty for clearance of newsprint without payment of duty under Notification No. 60/88-C.E. The appellants claimed exemption under the said Notification for newsprint cleared by them, falling under sub-heading 4801.90 of the Central Excise and Tariff Act, 1985. However, scrutiny revealed clearance of newsprint without payment of duty amounting to Rs. 5,97,60,645/-. The Notification required production of an entitlement certificate issued by the Registrar of Newspapers for India within a stipulated period to claim exemption. 2. The appellants were found liable to pay Central Excise duty of Rs. 29,88,032/- for the goods cleared without payment of duty in May and June 1995. A show cause notice was issued, and the appellants contended that the Registrar of Newspapers did not issue entitlement certificates due to changes in import policies. They later received certificates for the relevant period but failed to produce them within the specified time. The appellants argued for condonation of delay and consideration of Modvat credit for duty adjustment. 3. The impugned order noted that the entitlement certificates were not produced within the stipulated time or the delay condoned. Even if produced, the certificates were issued by the Controller of Newsprint, not the Registrar of Newspapers for India as required by the Notification. The legal principle was cited that statutory requirements must be strictly adhered to. The Supreme Court precedent emphasized justifying both procedural and substantive conditions of a notification before granting benefits. 4. The appellants' request for duty adjustment based on Modvat credit was rejected as no legal provision allowed such adjustments. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding no merit in the appellants' arguments. The judgment upheld the statutory requirements for entitlement certificates and the lack of legal provision for duty adjustments, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
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