2012 (6) TMI 308 - AT - Central Excise

Tribunal Remands Case for Merit Decision, Appellants Granted Hearing Opportunity

The tribunal remanded the case back to the Commissioner (Appeals) to decide on the merits without requiring further predeposit, providing the appellants ... Plea for waiver of pre-deposit of 50% of duty and penalty of equal amount u/s 11AC - dismissal of appeal by Commissioner(Appeals) for non-compliance with the provisions of section 35F - assessee offered to make pre-deposit of 25% of duty - Held that:- Applicants are directed to deposit 25% of duty within eight weeks and report compliance on stipulated date directly to Commissioner(Appeals). After waiving the requirement of pre-deposit of balance amount, it is held that since Commissioner(Appeals) has not decided the issues on merits. Therefore the case is remanded to Commissioner(Appeals) for deciding the issue on its merits without insisting for any further pre-deposit. Issues: Application for waiver of predeposit of duty and penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944.Analysis:1. The applicant filed an application for waiver of predeposit of duty and penalty amounting to Rs.4,51,560/- each under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The appeal was dismissed for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 35F, which required a predeposit of 50% of the total duty and penalty. The applicant contended that the case was not decided on merits. The consultant for the applicant offered to deposit 25% of the duty amount. The tribunal directed the applicants to deposit 25% of the duty within eight weeks and report compliance by a specified date.2. Upon hearing both sides, the tribunal found that the appeal could be disposed of at that stage. The tribunal waived the requirement of predeposit of the balance amount and decided to take up the appeal for disposal. It was noted that the Commissioner (Appeals) had not decided the case on its merits. Consequently, the tribunal remanded the case back to the Commissioner (Appeals) to decide the case on merits without insisting on any further predeposit. The appellants were directed to report compliance directly to the Commissioner (Appeals) by a specified date, ensuring a reasonable opportunity of hearing was provided to the appellants. The appeal was disposed of by way of remand, and the stay petition was also disposed of.This detailed analysis of the judgment provides a comprehensive overview of the issues involved and the tribunal's decision regarding the application for waiver of predeposit of duty and penalty under the Central Excise Act, 1944.