9911796707
TMI Blog1997 (12) TMI 249X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and thereafter proceeded to confiscate the excess with an option to redeem demand duty on the shortage and imposed a penalty on the appellant. 2. Before we proceed to deal with the arguments in this appeal, it is necessary to narrate the events which took place prior to the verification of the stock. On the 17th March, 1990, Central Excise officers visited the assessee's factory and took stock of the bearings manufactured by it. These were about 25 in variety. The officers found that there was shortage in some types of the stock, when compared with the stock that ought to have been present, going by the RG-1 register, and excess in some others. The officers in accordance with the normal practice, seized the excess and also the RG-1 r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce was issued demanding duty on the shortage, proposing confiscation of the excess and imposition of penalty. After hearing the appellant the Additional Collector has passed orders confirming duty and imposing penalty. Hence this appeal. 5. It is the contention of the Advocate of the appellant that there was in reality, no shortage or excess found on the 20th March. He says that on the 18th March, the stock was verified by the appellant's staff and the result communicated in the declaration filed to the department. The Additional Collector has admitted that there is no difference between the quantities in this declaration and the quantity found on the 20th. Therefore he says the difference is actually the quantity as specified in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oned the correctness of the stockstaking. He further contends that P.K. Joglekar, General Manager had initially claimed that there was no shortage. He had in the subsequent statement admitted that there was shortage and excess which he attributed to mistakes of employees. In the reply, to the notice also, it was not contended that there was no actual shortages. 6. In his letter of 28th November, 1991 the Assistant Personnel Manager had said that the workers reported for work on all days except 19th. This has been relied on by Additional Commissioner to support the view that there was production of goods on 17th, 18th and 20th March to rebut the contentions that the factory did not produce any goods between the two visits. Now, this le ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 00/-. The proceedings commenced in 1990 and the appeal is of 1991. In view of these factors we feel that it is appropriate that we should decide the matter. 7. As we have seen earlier, the discrepancy is effectively between the figures in the pre-budget stock declared by the appellant and the figures of actual stock found on 20th March. The contention that this was because there were errors in the stock actually found by the officers on 17th March was contained in the first statement of the General Manager Joglekar. However a further statement was recorded a couple of months later. In that statement he continues to maintain that there were errors shown on the 17th March. He however also says that the reason for the shortage and excess ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... excisable goods manufactured were in excess, they were not accounted for they were liable to confiscation in terms of Rule 173Q(1)(b). The excess was therefore rightly ordered to be confiscated. 9. When a manufacturer manufactures goods and signifies such manufacture by entering details of the goods manufactured in the RG-1 register it would logically follow that he alone would be able to explain how they were subsequently disposed of. If there has been subsequently a shortage in the goods as compared to the RG-1 register it would not be unreasonable to say that if the manufacturer had no reason to explain the shortage satisfactorily or show payment of duty on clearance of such goods, the conclusion necessarily has to follow that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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