2003 (4) TMI 186 - AT - Central Excise

Adjudication - Duty liability - Departmental clarification - Appeal - Valuation (Central Excise)

Summary

Issues:
1. Competence of Dy. Commissioner to issue demand notice and adjudicate the same.
2. Applicability of Circulars and Notifications for exemption from excise duty.
3. Jurisdiction issue regarding the authority to issue Show Cause Notice.
4. Valuation for charging duty on goods sold in DTA.

Competence of Dy. Commissioner:
The appellants contested the jurisdiction of the Dy. Commissioner to issue the demand notice and adjudicate the same. They argued that the Dy. Commissioner did not have the power to issue the notice and adjudicate the case, which should have been done by the Joint Commissioner. The Circular of 27-2-1997 recognized the competence of the Dy. Commissioner to issue notice and determine duty due without any limit under the statutory provisions. The Tribunal held that the Dy. Commissioner had full jurisdiction to issue the demand notice and adjudicate the case, while the Circular was issued without jurisdiction and could not be considered.

Applicability of Circulars and Notifications:
The Tribunal referred to the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the liability to pay basic excise duty and additional excise duty under specific Notifications. The appellants were found liable to pay the duties under the relevant Notifications. The Tribunal noted that the Circular issued by the Board should be applied retrospectively, and the duty was payable for the period specified in the Notifications.

Jurisdiction Issue:
The jurisdiction issue raised by the appellants regarding the authority to issue the Show Cause Notice was dismissed. The Tribunal held that the Dy. Commissioner had the jurisdiction to issue the notice and adjudicate the case, irrespective of the Circular issued by the Board.

Valuation for Charging Duty:
The issue of valuation for charging duty on goods sold in DTA was discussed. The appellants argued for the consideration of cum-duty price for valuation, while the Revenue contended for the application of transaction value method. The Tribunal found that the matter needed to be remanded to the Dy. Commissioner for re-calculation of assessable value and duty payable based on the total amount received by the appellants from DTA sale as the cum-duty price.

In conclusion, the demand confirmed by the lower authorities was set aside, and the matter was remanded for re-calculation of duty demand based on the valuation considerations discussed.