Tribunal denies complete waiver of pre-deposit for Cenvat Credit & penalty. Appellant must pay Rs. 1.25 lakh within 4 weeks

The Tribunal denied M/s Savitri Concast Ltd.'s request for a complete waiver of pre-deposit regarding recovery of Cenvat Credit and penalty. The Tribunal directed the appellant to deposit Rs. 1.25 lakh within 4 weeks and comply by a specified date. Upon compliance, recovery of the remaining dues was stayed pending appeal disposal, as the inputs were deemed not used for manufacturing final products but for support purposes, consistent with a previous decision.

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Issues: Stay application for waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery of Cenvat Credit and penalty.

Analysis:
- The appellant, M/s Savitri Concast Ltd., filed a Stay application seeking waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery of Cenvat Credit amounting to Rs. 4,55,595/- and an equal amount of penalty imposed by the original authority and confirmed by the Commissioner (Appeal).
- The appellant availed Cenvat Credit on duty paid on old & used plates, HSD Steel Bar, Beam, M.S. Angle, treating them as Capital Goods. However, the Revenue argued that these inputs were not capital goods used for the manufacture of final products but were used for laying foundations or making structures for support of capital goods.
- The Advocate for the appellant referred to a decision by the Larger Bench in the case of Vandana Global Ltd. and mentioned that the same decision had been challenged before the Chhattisgarh High Court, which admitted the appeal.
- The Revenue contended that the inputs in question were not used for the manufacture of final products but for support purposes, and the case fell within the scope of the Vandana Global Ltd. decision, which was upheld by the lower authority.
- The Tribunal found that the appellant failed to establish a prima facie case for complete waiver of pre-deposit. The Tribunal noted that the inputs were not used as capital goods or for the manufacture of final products but for support purposes, aligning with the Vandana Global Ltd. decision. As the decision of the Tribunal had not been stayed by the High Court, the Tribunal directed the appellant to deposit Rs. 1.25 lakh within 4 weeks and report compliance by a specified date. Upon compliance, the recovery of the balance dues was stayed until the appeal's disposal.

This detailed analysis of the judgment provides a comprehensive overview of the issues involved and the Tribunal's decision regarding the Stay application for waiver of pre-deposit and recovery of Cenvat Credit and penalty.

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