2014 (1) TMI 518 - AT - Central Excise

Tribunal: Improper Cenvat Credit Use, Additional Deposit Required

The Tribunal found that M/s. Kalptaru Alloys Pvt. Ltd. availed ineligible cenvat credit without receiving the inputs. The Tribunal directed the appellant ... Invoices raised but inputs not received – Waiver of pre-deposit – Held that:- The appellant had raised the credit without receiving the input – the contentions and the evidence needs to be gone into detail which can be done only at the time of final hearing of appeals - Prima facie, the appellant needs to be put to some condition for hearing and disposing the appeals – the main appellant has already deposited an amount of Rs.15 lakhs – thus, a further deposit an amount of Rs.10 lakhs as pre-deposit – upon such submission rest of the duty to be stayed till the disposal – Partial stay granted. Issues: Stay petitions for waiver of pre-deposit of duty demand, penalty, and interest amounts; availing ineligible cenvat credit; compliance with deposit requirements.Analysis:1. The Tribunal disposed of three stay petitions concerning the waiver of pre-deposit for duty demand, penalty, and interest amounts. The main appellant, M/s. Kalptaru Alloys Pvt. Ltd., was found to have availed ineligible cenvat credit based solely on supplier invoices without receiving the inputs.2. After hearing both parties and reviewing the records, the Tribunal noted that the adjudicating authority had made findings indicating that the main appellant had claimed credit without actually receiving the inputs. The appellant's defense highlighted a conflict between statutory documents and an unverified RTO report. The Tribunal acknowledged the need for a detailed examination of the evidence during the final appeal hearing.3. Considering that M/s. Kalptaru Alloys Pvt. Ltd. had already deposited Rs.15 lakhs during the investigation, the Tribunal directed the appellant to deposit an additional Rs.10 lakhs within eight weeks. Compliance was to be reported before the Deputy Registrar by a specified date. Upon verification of compliance, the bench would make appropriate orders. Pending compliance, applications for waiving the pre-deposit of the remaining amounts were allowed, and recovery was stayed until the appeal's disposal.