Personal penalty under Rule 209A can stand against a partner even when the firm has already been penalised.

Rule 209A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 creates personal liability for a person concerned in dealings with excisable goods liable to confiscation, so a partner may be penalised for his own omissions and commissions. The fact that the partnership firm has already been penalised does not automatically bar a separate personal penalty on the partner where his individual conduct is established. The distinction between firm-level liability and personal liability was treated as material, and principles applied in cases on customs penalties and partnership liability were held inapplicable on these facts.

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Issues: Whether a personal penalty under Rule 209A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 can be imposed on a partner even though the partnership firm has already been penalised.

Analysis: Rule 209A imposes liability on any person who is concerned in the specified dealings with excisable goods liable to confiscation and therefore fastens liability on the individual wrongdoer. The principle that separate penalties cannot be imposed on partners when the firm is penalised, as noticed in decisions dealing with customs penalties and partnership liability, was held to be inapplicable here because the penalty under Rule 209A is founded on the partner's own omissions and commissions. The distinction between a mandatory penalty on the firm and a personal penalty on the partner was treated as material, and the existence of a firm-level penalty did not bar penalty on the individual where his conduct was established.

Conclusion: A separate personal penalty on the partner was held to be sustainable notwithstanding the penalty imposed on the partnership firm.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory provision creates personal liability for an individual's own conduct, a separate penalty may be imposed on the partner even if the partnership firm is also penalised for the same transaction.

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