2005 (5) TMI 203 - AT - Central Excise

Adjudication - violation of principles of 'Natural Justice' - duty demand - HELD THAT - The CEGAT in its Final Order dated 12-2-2002 remanded the case to the Original authority on the ground that the order suffers from denial of principles of 'Natural Justice'. There was a specific direction to supply the documents relied upon by the Department in the show cause notice. However, on going through the de novo order, we find that the directions of CEGAT have not been complied with, presumably due to the fact that the said documents have been lost by the Department. Hence, we cannot accept the adjudicating authority's observations that these documents are not relied upon. Once the show cause notice mentions that certain documents are relied on, the Department should take utmost care to preserve them and furnish copy of the documents to the party. Non-furnishing of relied on documents is clearly a violation of denial of principles of Natural Justice. The de novo order also suffers from the vice of denial of principles of 'Natural Justice' as the original order. Thus, without going into the merit of the case, we are compelled to set aside the impugned order. In view of these findings, the appeal of the Revenue against the impugned order on the ground that no separate penalty under Rule 173Q has been imposed by the adjudicating authority becomes infructuous. Hence we allow the party's appeals and reject the Revenue's appeal. These three appeals are disposed of in the above terms.

Summary

Issues Involved:
- Violation of principles of Natural Justice
- Duty demand without following Central Excise procedures
- Non-furnishing of relied-on documents by the Revenue
- Compliance with directions from CEGAT
- Imposition of penalty under Rule 173Q

Violation of principles of Natural Justice:
The case involved proceedings initiated by Revenue against a company for manufacturing and clearing computer systems without payment of duty and not following Central Excise procedures. The original order confirmed duty demand and imposed penalties. The company appealed, citing violation of principles of Natural Justice. The CEGAT remanded the case for consideration of documents relied upon by the Department. Despite repeated requests, the Revenue failed to provide these documents, claiming they were lost. The adjudicating authority maintained that the party did not cooperate and upheld the duty demand. However, the company argued they were only engaged in trading and needed the relied-on documents for an effective defense. Citing various case laws, including Supreme Court judgments, the company contended that non-furnishing of relied-on documents violated Natural Justice principles.

Duty demand without following Central Excise procedures:
The Revenue accused the company of manufacturing and clearing computer systems without paying duty and not following Central Excise procedures. The original order confirmed the duty demand, penalties, and personal penalties on the company's director. The CEGAT remanded the case due to Natural Justice violations, directing the Revenue to provide relied-on documents. The company's defense centered on being a trading entity, not involved in manufacturing. The failure of the Revenue to furnish relied-on documents was deemed a violation of Natural Justice, leading to the setting aside of the impugned order.

Non-furnishing of relied-on documents by the Revenue:
Despite specific directions from the CEGAT to supply documents relied upon in the show cause notice, the Revenue failed to comply, citing the loss of these documents. The Tribunal found this failure to be a clear violation of Natural Justice principles. The inability of the Revenue to provide relied-on documents led to the setting aside of the impugned order, as the party's right to a fair defense was severely prejudiced.

Compliance with directions from CEGAT:
The CEGAT had directed the Revenue to supply relied-on documents, but this directive was not followed, resulting in a violation of Natural Justice principles. The failure to comply with the CEGAT's directions led to the setting aside of the impugned order, emphasizing the importance of adhering to procedural fairness and providing parties with necessary documents for a fair hearing.

Imposition of penalty under Rule 173Q:
The appeal of the Revenue against the impugned order on the ground of no separate penalty under Rule 173Q being imposed by the adjudicating authority was deemed infructuous due to the overall setting aside of the order based on the violation of Natural Justice principles. The Tribunal allowed the party's appeals and rejected the Revenue's appeal, disposing of all three appeals accordingly.

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