9911796707
TMI Blog1994 (11) TMI 234X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d a show cause notice on 19-3-1991 restricting the demand only for a period of six months presumably not finding in the evidence already collected any suppression on the part of the appellants. The appellants also paid duty of Rs. 1,21,548.87 under protest, for the said six months period. Subsequently after a lapse of nearly one year on the same materials and evidence collected and which had already been gone into by the Asstt. Collector, Ld. Collector initiated proceedings for longer period inter alia covering the period covered in the show cause notice of the Asstt. Collector cited supra and passed the impugned order. It was submitted that when one statutory authority did not find any evidence for suppression and restricted the demand for a period of six months it will not be open to another authority after a lapse of one year to reopen a closed issue relating to suppression on the same identical evidence. This was pleaded to be not in conformity with procedural fairness in law. The learned Counsel further submitted that the appellants are manufacturing computer ribbons and are also re-inking manufactured and duty paid ribbons collected from various customers for purpose of re-us ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the levy in question and if the same had not been made available to the appellants with opportunity for reconciliation and if the appellants are prepared to reconcile from the floppy discs by bringing out the necessary information in support of their plea, the matter may be remanded as such an examination will not be possible before the Tribunal. 4. In view of the above, after hearing the learned Counsel for the appellants, with the consent of the parties, it was felt that the appeal itself could be disposed of on a short point of law dispensing with the pre-deposit of duty and penalty in question. 5. The learned DR submitted that the charge against the appellants relates to supply of new ribbons in the guise of old ribbons and also removal of new ribbons clandestinely. He pleaded that the intimation under D-3 was filed by the appellants in respect of used ribbons received by them and these were their own documents. The gate pass numbers mentioned in the D-3 intimation were found to be not correct in some of the cases. He pleaded that dealers who had received the so-called re-inked and repaired ribbons have also stated that they received only new ribbons and paid the price for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lants could not plead denial of principles of natural justice and there is nothing to show that any information was held back from the appellants. 6. Shri Raghavan, the learned Counsel for the appellants pleaded that the appellants had come on record in regard to their operations and sales pattern and had marked in the invoice and other documents with notations RC, RR, RI which stand for Reconditioning, Rectification and Re-inking respectively, which were filed before the authorities and there were also necessary packing slips, delivery challans, work order job, tickets which have been seized by the authorities. The gate passes under which the ribbons re-inked and the cassettes have been removed and the invoices under which the same were removed and the operations of the appellants can be assessed from the invoice, delivery challans, packing slips and job tickets and these would link the work done by the appellants and these details have been fed into the floppy discs which have been seized by the authorities. He pleaded that the goods were removed under proper documents and as it is, it is these documents would link-up clearances with the appellants D-3 intimation. He pleaded th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on of new cassettes which was not done. He pleaded that the appellants have fed the information in regard to the utilisation of the imported rolls in the floppy discs which have been seized by the authorities and the copies of which given to the appellants were found to be defective except in case of 30 floppies and the appellants had prayed for fresh copies and other documents to put forth their defence and the learned lower authority should have given all the documents in which the figures of manufacture and/or sale of cassettes was reflected to the appellants before coming to any conclusion against the appellants. He pleaded that the Departmental authorities have culled out information from the floppies and the appellants should have been allowed access to those floppies which has not been done. He pleaded that this should have been done before adjudication of the matter and the lower authority in a very summary manner in paras 115 and 116 of the order has dealt with this issue. The learned Counsel, therefore prayed for setting aside the order of the lower authority. 7. We have considered the pleas made before us. The demand has been raised against the appellants for the reaso ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... maintained by them and check of the document filed by them as statutorily required in terms of Rules 173H and other Central Excise Rules. Merely stating that only some of the cassettes received for re-inking were returned is not enough. The authorities should have given the result of the investigation in regard to the D-3 intimation and also in regard to the discrepancies found. This not having been done, we hold that the order cannot be considered as a proper one. In regard to the plea that the appellants have been denied access to information as contained in the floppies as except for a small number copies supplied were found defective and information could be retrieved only from a small numbers, out of the total of 108 floppies, it is observed that the appellants had made their plea in this regard before the learned lower authority and the said authority has noted this plea in para 115 which is reproduced below for convenience of reference : Their next averments are that they have not been provided with all the informations contained in the floppies seized from them and also were not provided with the relevant details with regard to Annexures III, IV and VI of the Show Cause ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it is expected that these would have been scrutinised by the authorities and it should not have been difficult for the authorities to have furnished the copies of the same in case the copies of floppies could not be given. In view of the above, there is force in the plea of the appellants that in the absence of copies of floppies or the other relevant documents having been made available to them, they were handicapped in their defence. No doubt it is shown from the records that copies of the floppies had been given to them, but the appellants had found the same to be defective and the authorities in fairness should have given the copies of the floppies again. The appellants would know better about the information fed into the floppies and the relevance of the same cannot be disputed. Since the authorities have not given copies of all the floppies or other relevant documents as above, and also the investigation report it has to be held that there has been denial of principles of natural justice. In view of the above, we set aside the impugned order as not proper and remand the matter for de novo consideration after affording the appellants an opportunity of hearing in the light of o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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