9911796707
TMI Blog2016 (5) TMI 778X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gathered that some manufacturers of OE parts were fraudulently availing modvat credit on GP sheet which was neither an input nor it was used for the manufacture of OE parts. During the preliminary investigation, it was found that modus operandi of the appellant was that though OE manufacturers such as Punjab Tractors Ltd., HMT Ltd., Railway Coach Factory and Maruti Udyog Ltd, required their parts to be manufactured from hot rolled/ cold rolled but steel the appellants were purchasing GP sheets showing them to be used for OE products. In fact, the GP sheets, so purchased products were clandestinely sold in the market and HR/CR sheet were purchased without invoice and used in the manufacture of OE parts and duty payable on GP sheet was higher, the same was claimed as modvat credit. In these sets of facts, the show cause notice was issued to the appellant for the period October, 1996 to March, 1998 to deny modvat credit on account of fraud committed by them. The matters were adjudicated and the demand of duty was confirmed by denying the credit on GP sheets procured by the appellants alongwith interest and various penalties imposed on all the appellants. Aggrieved with the said order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r vehicle parts is CR/HR sheets; that the tractor part supplied by the vendor are usually manufactured out of CR/HR sheets. They also further deposed that they had not received any component/parts manufactured out of GP sheets. 5. The appellants factory was visited by the officer on 1-11-1999 and in the presence of Shri Subhash Sikka, Managing partner of the unit, various checks and verifications were undertaken. In his statement dated 1-11-1999, Shri Subhash Sikka deposed that they were purchasing the raw materials from local market/traders and the manufacturing process of silencers was sheering and cutting of sheets and pipes, bending to pipe, sheet, rolling and pressing, sheet press work, assembly with we/ding, oil burning, derusting in acid tank, enamelling, turning of casting and drilling, roll threading, plating, hardening and assembly of all different items of silencers for despatching after packing. The records maintained by the appellant revealed that the Cenvatable invoices mentioned the description of the goods as sheets/GP sheets. Enquiries made from the dealers also revealed that the appellant has been receiving GP sheets. I am not referring to the evidences collecte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ppellant by reflecting the same in the statutory returns; that all the invoices were being produced before the Range officer, who was regularly defacing the same and; that RT-12 returns were being regularly filed by the appellant; that the said RT-12 returns were being finally assessed. As such there was no question of suppression of fact and the extended period was not invocable, in terms of the Apex Court's decision in the case of Collector v. Ganges Soap Works (P) Ltd. - 2003 (154) E.L.T. A234". 8. In these set of facts, this Tribunal has observed as under: 12. The impugned orders stands passed by the lower authorities in terms of the remand proceedings by the Hon'ble High Court vide their order dated 21-8-2008. On going through the said order of the Hon'ble High Court, I find that the appeal does not stand disposed of by the Hon'ble High Court on the merits of the case, as is clear from the re-produced part of the order, it stand remitted to the lower authorities, preliminary on the ground that the entire material collected by the Revenue was not supplied to the assessee. 13. The Assistant Commissioner has passed a detailed order by referring to the evidences ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d nor is there any documentary evidence to establish that the procured GP sheets were cleared by the appellant in the market. Further, the Revenue has also miserably failed to show as to from where the appellants have procured the HR/CR sheets. Admittedly, without the use of the raw materials, may It be GP sheets or HR/CR sheets, their final product cannot be manufactured. In the absence of any evidence produced by the Revenue, the burden of countering and rebutting the evidence does not get shifted to the assessee. 15. In any case and in any way of the matter, I find that the appellants have tried to explain as to how the GP sheets can be used by them in the manufacture of their final product. It stands explained by them that such GP sheets are first dipped in the sulphuric acid as a result of which Zinc coating thereon disappears and CR/HR sheets emerged. In such a process the sheets get de-galvanised and can be used in the manufacture of final product. The said stand does not stand accepted by the lower authorities by observing that it is not a profitable proposition and economically viable for the assessee. Admittedly, the above observations are in the nature of assumptions an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he findings of the appellate authority in his earlier order, nevertheless, I find that the said facts remains unrebutted. 18. The appellants have also taken a categorical stand that there was no benefit for them the produce HR/CR sheets from grey market and obtain bills of GP sheets since both were chargeable to 16% rate of duty. The said plea does not stand accepted on the ground that the GP sheets are costlier than HR/CR sheets and the same are used in the industries like manufacture of utensils, coolers, buckets, air conditioners which are in unorganised sector and required no Modvat documents. Accordingly it stands observed that from the said fact it can be reasonably inferred that the Modvat documents of GP sheets are freely available for utilisation of credit of by unscrupulous manufacturers. On the other hand, HR/CR sheets can be obtained from the grey market without payment of excise duty, while the corresponding Modvat documents of GP sheets can be obtained by payment of amounts which are only a fraction of duty amount Involved. This explains the economic rationale behind adoption of such a modus operandi. . Obviously, the above reasoning is in the realm of surmise and c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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