9911796707
TMI Blog2019 (8) TMI 379X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inished goods, to the trading unit is not in dispute. It would appear that the statement of various individuals, that have been relied upon to substantiate the indirect evidence introduced in the form of submission to another statutory authority in a different context, viz., to secure of brand name, the discharge of liability of sales tax and the plea before the Settlement Commission by successor entity would necessarily have to be subject to the test of validity and reliability. It is seen from the records that the findings of the adjudicating authority, taking note of the circumstances of non-availability of records, appear to have placed excessive reliance on uncorroborated evidence. The confirmation of demand of duty rests, therefore, u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... trade marks pursuant to an application for securing of brand 'SUNLAC' and reinforcing its claim by the high turnover which was not reflected in the excise documents, the investigating authority, concluded that, with the data furnished for the purpose of sales tax assessment corroborating the turnover, the charge of surreptitious manufacture and clearance was established. 2. It is common ground that the records of production for the period of dispute are not available and that the charges of clandestine clearance have been inferred from lateral evidence. A pendrive and data afforded by access to the computer installed at the searched premises is the basis for this conclusion. 3. Learned Counsel for the appellant submits that for determini ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... further submitted that the later operator of the factory had approached the Customs and Settlement Commission and that the plea of any connection with the appellant herein appeared to be motivated by desiring to distance themselves from the admitted modus operandi and, coupled with erasure of records, was intended to avoid liability being fastened on them. Reliance has been placed by Learned Authorised Representative on the decision of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in Commissioner of Central Excise, Surat - I v. Neminath Fabrics Pvt Ltd [2010 (256) ELT 369 (Guj.)], of the Tribunal in Ahmednagar Rolling Mills Pvt Ltd v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Aurangabad [2014 (300) ELT 119 (Tri.-Mumbai)], in Windson Chem Industries v. Commissio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat the statement of various individuals, that have been relied upon to substantiate the indirect evidence introduced in the form of submission to another statutory authority in a different context, viz., to secure of brand name, the discharge of liability of sales tax and the plea before the Settlement Commission by successor entity would necessarily have to be subject to the test of validity and reliability. It is seen from the records that the findings of the adjudicating authority, taking note of the circumstances of non-availability of records, appear to have placed excessive reliance on uncorroborated evidence in the light of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Andaman Timber Industries v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Kolk ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e those dealers and what extraction the appellant wanted from them. 7. As mentioned above, the appellant had contested the truthfulness of the statements of these two witnesses and wanted to discredit their testimony for which purpose it wanted to avail the opportunity of cross-examination. That apart, the Adjudicating Authority simply relied upon the price list as maintained at the depot to determine the price for the purpose of levy of excise duty. Whether the goods were, in fact, sold to the said dealers/witnesses at the price which is mentioned in the price list itself could be the subject matter of cross-examination. Therefore, it was not for the Adjudicating Authority to presuppose as to what could be the subject matter of the cross ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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