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TMI Blog2017 (3) TMI 919X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2, 55209, 55208, 55207, 55206, 55205, 55204, 55401 and 55400 of 2013 - A/50366-50374/2017-EX[DB] - Dated:- 18-1-2017 - Shri S.K. Mohanty, Member (Judicial) Shri B. Ravichandran, Member (Technical) Appearance Shri Amresh Jain, Authorized Representative (DR) for the appellant. S/Shri Balbir Singh, Senior Advocate and Alok Barthwal, Advocate for the Respondents. Per. B. Ravichandran :- These 9 appeals by Revenue are against common impugned order dated 30/08/2012 of Commissioner of Central Excise, Indore. Briefly stated, the common issue involved in these appeals is that the Central Excise duty liability has not been discharged by M/s Kores (India) Ltd. and other respondents by wrongly availing small scale industry exemption based on turnover. The case of the Revenue is that these units (other than M/s Kores), were only dummy units and accordingly the clearance of these units are to be considered together to reckon turnover and to decide the tax liability. 2. The dispute has a long history. Certain investigations were conducted in October 1996 against M/s Kores (India) Ltd. On completion of investigation show cause notices proposing clubbi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .C.) and decision of the Tribunal in Unique Resin Industries vs. CCE reported in 1993 (68) E.L.T. 230 (Tribunal) ; (ii) The dealing between SSI unit and M/s Kores was not on principal to principal basis. M/s Kores had provided money to set up the business of the 4 units and the prices at which goods were sold by the units to M/s Kores was also being fixed by M/s Kores. The internal correspondence among the units show that these units are nothing but divisions of M/s Kores. The organizational changes which happened after the initial proceedings against some of the SSI units were only cosmetic in nature and were made to overcome the clubbing of turnover. M/s Kores provided infrastructure for manufacture, arrangement of funds for raw materials, salaries and wages. Even costing of final product is done by M/s Kores. The SSI units were supplying almost all their entire production to M/s Kores. The evidences adduced by the Department with reference to earlier proceedings are very much relevant to the current proceeding for later period also ; (iii) The Commissioner is not correct in his conclusion that there is no flow back of money. When the units were proved to be dummy ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y the Hon ble Madhya Pradesh High Court. However, before the remand order of the Tribunal could reach the Jurisdictional Commissioner the remand cases in terms of Hon ble High Court s direction was decided. On appeal against the said decision, the Tribunal passed final order dated 10/09/2015. The appeals by the respondent were allowed in the said final order. Hence, it is the submission of the learned Counsel that the Original Authority happened to pass two different orders only because of the technical reason of not getting the second remand direction in time. He further elaborated that the facts and circumstances which were dealt with in the first round of proceedings were very much relevant in the present proceedings also. In fact, he submitted that there is a stronger case for the respondent in view of certain changes in the circumstances. These changes are mainly with reference to the appointment of new Directors from time to time for the small scale units; the SSI units stopped buying wire from M/s Kores; Lt. Col. Harbhajan Singh and Shri Reji Anthony whose roles were extensively quoted in the previous proceedings had resigned and left M/s Kores. Even du ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the new Directors were closely connected/related to the main respondent M/s Kores. There is no evidence to the effect that there is correspondence or interference in day-to-day work of the small scale units by M/s Kores during the material time under dispute. In fact the SSI units stopped purchasing drawn wire from M/s Kores as the prices were not competitive. In the first round of proceedings significant emphasis was given to the role of Lt. Col. Harbhajan Singh and Shri Reji Anthony who were with M/s Kores. It is submitted by the respondent that these two have left M/s Kores and the evidences collected for the earlier proceedings have no application to the present period. 7. It is seen that regarding the allegation of sharing of common infrastructure, the SSI units were paying rent as per commercial consideration and the other shared facilities were on lease basis. Regarding M/s Kores standing as guarantor for the loans it was submitted that one of the SSI unit got the loan from M/s Birla Global Finance Limited and M/s Kores stood guarantor for the lease hold loan. The cost of machinery purchased by M/s Neptune on IC sales from M/s Kores was paid from the loan taken. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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