Rule 25 confiscation for raw materials was sustained despite limits on excise confiscation provisions.

Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 was treated as applying to goods manufactured by the assessee, not to raw materials or inputs procured from the market against cash, and precedent was relied on to confine confiscation provisions to finished excisable goods. The reasoning also noted that the earlier Rule 173Q did not justify extending confiscation to such inputs under Rule 25. On that basis, the confiscation of the raw material and the redemption fine were upheld, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether raw material procured from the market against cash could be confiscated under Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, and whether redemption fine could be sustained on that basis.

Analysis: Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 was held to apply to goods manufactured by the assessee and not to raw materials or inputs. The appellate authority relied on precedent holding that confiscation provisions in the excise rules operate in relation to finished excisable goods and not to inputs. The reasoning also noted that the earlier Rule 173Q did not support extending confiscation to such raw materials under Rule 25.

Conclusion: The confiscation of the raw material and the redemption fine were upheld, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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