Pre-deposit waiver and stay granted where Rule 57CC collections were held prima facie outside duty recovery under Section 11D.

Amounts collected as excise duty on exempted goods were treated as not prima facie recoverable as duty under Section 11D, because the Tribunal found the issue covered by its earlier view that the 8% amount collected under Rule 57CC was not duty exigible for deposit. Without deciding the final merits, the Tribunal accepted the appellant's request for interim protection and granted waiver of pre-deposit. Recovery of the disputed amount was stayed until disposal of the appeal.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery pending appeal.

Analysis: The dispute concerned recovery of amounts collected as excise duty in respect of exempted goods. The Tribunal noted that the issue was prima facie covered by its earlier view that the 8% amount collected under Rule 57CC was not duty exigible for deposit under Section 11D of the Central Excise Act. In view of that coverage, and without entering into final merits, the appellant's request for interim relief was accepted.

Conclusion: Waiver of pre-deposit was granted and recovery of the disputed amount was stayed till disposal of the appeal.

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