Composite excise penalties require separate apportionment under each provision; undivided penalty orders may be remanded for fresh calculation.

Composite penalties imposed under the Central Excise Rules, 1944 together with the separate statutory penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944 must be clearly apportioned between the distinct legal provisions. Where the penalty order does not separately identify the amounts attributable to each rule and to Section 11AC, the order cannot be sustained in its present form. The proper course is remand to the original authority for fresh apportionment of penalty under the relevant rules and under Section 11AC.

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Issues: Whether the composite penalty imposed under the Central Excise Rules, 1944 read with Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was sustainable without separate apportionment between the distinct provisions, and whether the matter required remand to the original authority.

Analysis: The penalties had been imposed under multiple rules of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 together with Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The decision noted that the penalty amount must be separately apportioned between the penalties referable to the different rules and the separate statutory penalty under Section 11AC. In the absence of such apportionment, the order could not be sustained in its present form, and the proper course was to send the matter back for fresh apportionment by the original authority.

Conclusion: The composite penalty order was not sustained as framed, and the matter was remanded for separate apportionment of penalty under the relevant rules and under Section 11AC; the appeals succeeded by way of remand in favour of the assessee.

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