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TMI Blog1994 (9) TMI 201X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... irst appellant company and a demand of Rs. 10,28,914/- on steel furniture such as Drawer units, lock units, tool cabinets etc. manufactured and cleared by the appellant company without payment of Excise duty and imposing penalties of Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs. 5 lakhs on the first and second appellant respectively. 2. The Adjudicating authority has rejected the contention of the appellants that they were not clearing fully manufactured units but only purchasing decorative laminated top units from M/s. Siddharth Engineering Works and reselling them with adjustment on steel frames and has further rejected the contention that the steel furniture was purchased from another manufacturer namely M/s. Sam Engg. Works on the ground that M/s. Roopa Indus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... epartment of their factory; after receipt in his department, the decorative laminate top was fitted with top frame by screw and afterwards above mentioned U frame small nug-2 (round) U frame round big No. 1 and foot rest round No. 1 decorative laminated top fitted with top frame altogether were packed in one corrugated box and after it had been packed 1348 DLTU has been written on it. 1354 DLTU : For manufacturing such type of units, decorative tops of size 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 were received in his department from stores department whereas 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 top frame, U frame, round No. 4 and foot rest round No. 1 were received in his department from colour department and after receiving the same decorative laminated top was fitted with top fram ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ox of foot U frame and foot rest. Shri Bhogal confirmed that all these packing and fittings were done in the packing department of the factory. The production floor of the factory was inspected by the officers of Central Excise Department on 4-1-1990 and different sizes of decorative tops were lying in the factory. Shri Bhogal and Shri S.K. Jagdish Chander Sheth stated that these were the tops which are received from M/s. Sidharth Engg. Works, Ahmedabad. 5. The statement of Shri Ashok R. Patel, Director of the company was recorded on 3-1-1990 wherein he deposed that the appellant company had been manufacturing steel furniture and its parts and also carrying on trading business; that on going through the invoice produced on 20-1-1990 in re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ok to support his contention that what was supplied by M/s. Sidharth Engg. Works was the entire DLTU and not the laminated tops or patties. 7. We have gone through the invoices and find that in almost all of them the items have been described as DLTU top unit of different models, like 2048, 1348, 2060 and it is only in invoice at page 56 there is reference to CRADENTA to the top. Therefore, there is no doubt that what was supplied was only the tops i.e. incomplete parts of the table units which were kept in the store room of the appellants factory and still in the production department before forwarding to the packing and fitting department. We therefore, agree with the findings of the adjudicating authority that the appellants had clear ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ive laminated top units without payment of duty. However, in view of our finding that the demand of Rs. 10,28,914/- on steel furniture is not sustainable, we reduce the penalty upon the first appellant company to Rs. 5 lakhs. The penalty on the second appellant Director is legally sustainable in terms of Rule 209A as he was the person looking after the affairs of the first appellant company and had carried out the entire operation of clandestine manufacture and removal of decorative laminated top units (DLTUs) with the knowledge of liability of the goods for confiscation and had initiated the misdeclaration in the invoice (relating to DLTUs) marked NE in order to falsely bring into existence non-excisable trading goods. For the same reaso ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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