Appellate Tribunal Grants Waiver of Penalty for Impex Ferro Tech Ltd. and Director

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT KOLKATA granted waiver of predeposit of penalty for M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Tribunal accepted the offer to deposit Rs.2,50,000 in addition to the already paid Rs.1,00,000, directing the Company to comply within eight weeks to stay recovery of balance dues. Similarly, waiver of penalty under Section 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, for Mr. Virendra Kumar Jain, Director of the Company, was granted on the condition of complying with the deposit requirement to avoid dismissal of the appeal and stay recovery of remaining dues.

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Issues:
1. Waiver of predeposit of penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944 for M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd.
2. Waiver of penalty under Section 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 for Mr. Virendra Kumar Jain, Director of the Applicant Company.

Issue 1: Waiver of predeposit of penalty for M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944:

The Appellate Tribunal considered the application for waiver of predeposit of penalty amounting to Rs.5,18,436 imposed on M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. The penalty was related to shortages of finished goods discovered during an inspection. The Authorized Representative of the Applicant Company explained that the shortages were acknowledged, and the duty amount for the shortages was already paid. An offer was made to deposit an additional amount of Rs.2,50,000. The Department's representative confirmed the payment of duty but mentioned that the shortage was explained by an employee of the Company, which was further confirmed by the Company's Director. The Tribunal noted that the entire duty amount had been paid by M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. during the investigation and accepted the offer to deposit Rs.2,50,000 in addition to the Rs.1,00,000 already paid. The Tribunal directed the Company to deposit the said amount within eight weeks and stay the recovery of the balance dues during the appeal's pendency. Failure to comply would lead to the dismissal of the appeal.

Issue 2: Waiver of penalty for Mr. Virendra Kumar Jain under Section 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002:

The Tribunal also addressed the waiver of penalty under Section 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, amounting to Rs.5,18,436 imposed on Mr. Virendra Kumar Jain, Director of the Applicant Company. The penalty was connected to the same shortages of finished goods. The Tribunal's decision regarding the waiver of penalty for Mr. Jain was aligned with the decision made for M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. Since the Company had already paid the duty amount and an offer to deposit an additional sum was accepted, the Tribunal directed Mr. Jain to comply with the deposit requirement within the specified timeframe to avoid dismissal of the appeal and stay the recovery of the remaining dues during the appeal process.

This detailed judgment by the Appellate Tribunal CESTAT KOLKATA involved issues related to the waiver of predeposit of penalties under the Central Excise Act and Rules for M/s Impex Ferro Tech. Ltd. and its Director, Mr. Virendra Kumar Jain. The Tribunal carefully considered the explanations provided, the payments made, and the offers for additional deposits before issuing directives for compliance and stay of recovery during the appeal process.

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