1999 (7) TMI 582

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... -1998 and 1-12-1998 issued by the Assistant Commissioner, Central Excise Division, Ludhiana for the recovery of different sums of money from the petitioner on account of arrears of Central Excise duty. 2. The petitioner is a public limited company with its registered office at Ludhiana and is engaged in the manufacture of M.S. Ingots on which excise duty is leviable. The Board of directors of .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... n this submission. A reading of sections 15 to 18 of the Act makes it clear that on receipt of a reference from the company under section 15(1) the Board may make such inquiry as it may deem fit for determining whether the company has become a sick industrial company. The use of word may leaves it to the option of the Board to register the reference or reject the same summarily. If it registers .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... has not been obtained. In this view of the matter, the department cannot recover the arrears of excise duty at this stage and, therefore, the impugned notices cannot be sustained. The view that we have taken finds support from the observations made by the Apex Court in Real Value Appliances Ltd v. Canara Bank [1998-2] 119 P.L.R. 553. 4. In the result, the writ petition is allowed and the .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X