Tribunal overturns penalty on Deputy Manager at Bharat Petroleum for CENVAT Excise Rules violation

The tribunal set aside the imposition of a personal penalty of Rs. 5,000 under Rule 26 of CENVAT Excise Rules on the Deputy Manager (Operational) of M/s. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The tribunal found that the appellant was not involved in policy decisions and did not commit any act to evade duty payment. As a result, the tribunal waived the pre-deposit of the duty and allowed the Stay petition, ultimately ruling in favor of the appellant by overturning the penalty imposition.

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Issues involved: Application for waiver of pre-deposit of personal penalty under Rule 26 of CENVAT Excise Rules.

Summary:
The applicant, working as Deputy Manager (Operational) with M/s. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, filed an application for waiver of pre-deposit of a personal penalty of Rs. 5,000. The penalty was imposed under Rule 26 of CENVAT Excise Rules while confirming a demand on the company. The impugned order did not find any commission or omission by the appellant to evade duty payment. Consequently, the tribunal waived the pre-deposit of the duty and allowed the Stay petition. The appeal solely challenged the imposition of the Rs. 5,000 penalty. The adjudicating authority had noted that the appellant was an employee of the company and that policy decisions were made by the company's management. Since the appellant, as Deputy Manager (Operational), was not involved in policy decisions, the tribunal found the penalty imposition unsustainable and set it aside, thereby allowing the appeal.

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