Successor liability under central excise does not extend to legal heirs of a deceased manufacturer absent express statutory wording.

A deceased registered manufacturer's legal heirs could not be proceeded against for reversal of cenvat credit or recovery of excise duty under the Central Excise Act. Section 11A authorises recovery from the person chargeable with duty, and Section 3 identifies the manufacturer as that person; the successor-liability proviso in Section 11 applies only where a business is transferred or otherwise disposed of during the predecessor's lifetime. It does not extend to intestate succession or create liability by implication. Because the assessee died before any statutory transfer of business, the departmental demand against the legal heirs was without jurisdiction and the Tribunal's order setting aside recovery was correct.

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Issues: Whether, on the death of a registered manufacturer who had availed cenvat credit and on surrender of the registration certificate, the legal heirs are liable to answer the department's claim for reversal of credit and recovery of duty under the Central Excise Act.

Analysis: Section 11A authorises recovery from the person chargeable with duty, and Section 3 identifies the manufacturer as the person so chargeable. Section 11, including its proviso, contemplates recovery where business is transferred or otherwise disposed of during the lifetime of the predecessor and a successor takes over the business. The provision does not extend to intestate succession or create liability against legal heirs of a deceased assessee. In fiscal legislation, liability cannot be imposed by implication, and the statute cannot be read as if it contained words that are not there. As the assessee had died before any transfer of business in the statutory sense, the successor proviso was inapplicable, and the claim against the legal heirs was without jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The legal heirs were not liable for the departmental demand, and the order of the Tribunal setting aside the recovery was correct.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of an express statutory provision, the legal heirs of a deceased manufacturer cannot be proceeded against for excise dues; the successor-liability proviso applies only to transfers or disposals of business during the predecessor's lifetime.

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