Excise duty payment by cheque counts on receipt date, not realisation date, for determining default under the Cenvat Rules.

Payment of excise duty by cheque is treated as made on the date the cheque is received and tendered, not on the later date when its proceeds are realised. Applying that principle under the Cenvat Rules, 2001, the Tribunal held that delay cannot be alleged merely because bank realisation occurred later if the cheque was tendered by the due date. The assessee was therefore not in default, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether payment of excise duty by cheque is treated as payment on the date of receipt of the cheque or only on the date of realization of the cheque proceeds for the purpose of determining default under the Cenvat Rules, 2001.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether the assessee had missed the due date for payment of duty because the cheque was realized on the due date though it had been deposited earlier. The Tribunal relied on the settled principle that, for duty payment, the relevant date is the date on which the cheque is received and tendered, not the later date on which its proceeds are realized.

Conclusion: The assessee was not a defaulter in payment of duty, and the Revenue's appeal was not sustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: For excise duty payment, the date of receipt of a cheque constitutes the date of payment, and the date of realization of the cheque does not govern default.

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