Appellate Tribunal grants waiver of duty liability, interest & penalty for job worker, stays recovery pending appeal.

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT AHMEDABAD granted the appellant's stay petition seeking waiver of pre-deposit of duty liability, interest, and penalty under Rule 15 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. The appellant, a job worker, had already deposited the duty liability amount and contested the issue on its merits. Citing precedents, the judge favored the appellant and allowed the waiver application for the remaining amounts. The recovery of balance amounts was stayed pending appeal disposal, providing a favorable outcome for the appellant.

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Issues involved:
1. Stay petition for waiver of pre-deposit of duty liability, interest, and penalty under Rule 15 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004.

Analysis:
The judgment delivered by Mr. M.V. Ravindran at the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT AHMEDABAD pertained to a stay petition seeking the waiver of pre-deposit of an amount of Rs.1,95,515/-, interest, and an equivalent penalty imposed under Rule 15 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. The advocate on record submitted a written representation seeking exemption from personal appearance due to having deposited the entire duty liability amount while contesting the issue on its merits. The issue at hand revolved around the eligibility of the appellant, a job worker, to discharge duty liability on scrap arising during job work processing from the cenvat account available with him. The presiding judge noted that prima facie, the issue seemed to favor the assessee based on precedents like FAG Engineering (I) Ltd. 2011 (266) ELT 193 (Tri - Ahmd.). Considering that the appellant had already deposited the full duty liability and was contesting the matter on its merits, the judge allowed the application for the waiver of pre-deposit of the remaining amounts involved. Consequently, the recovery of the balance amounts was stayed pending the appeal's disposal. The judgment was dictated and pronounced in the court, providing a favorable outcome for the appellant in terms of the waiver sought.

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