2001 (3) TMI 369 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues Involved: Clubbing of clearances for excisable goods, imposition of duty, penalty, appeal against one assessee without hearing other firms proposed to be clubbed.

In the case, the factory premises of the respondent were visited by Central Excise Officers due to suspicions of clandestine manufacturing and removal of excisable goods. Investigations revealed a complex network of companies with interrelated ownership. The adjudicating authority dropped proceedings citing lack of common partners, flow back of profits, and mutuality of interest, leading to the conclusion that clearances of one company could not be clubbed with those of another. The Revenue appealed this decision.

The Appellate Tribunal, referring to a previous case law, emphasized the importance of hearing all firms or units whose clearances were proposed to be clubbed with the respondent before appealing against one assessee. The Tribunal noted that the Revenue had filed the appeal within the statutory period but had failed to appeal against all relevant parties, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal against one firm as time-barred. Consequently, the Tribunal held that without hearing all concerned parties, the appeal against only one firm was not maintainable when clearances of multiple units were to be clubbed. Following the precedent, the Tribunal upheld the impugned order and rejected the appeal brought by the Revenue.