Tribunal upholds Rs. 15,000 penalty under Central Excise Act

The Tribunal upheld the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 15,000 under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as the appellant did not challenge the Revenue's appeal. The Tribunal directed the appellant to deposit 25% of the confirmed duty within 30 days to benefit from the provisions of Section 11AC, citing precedent from the High Court of Gujarat. Failure to comply would result in the appellant being liable for the entire duty amount as a penalty. The Revenue's appeal was disposed of in line with the Tribunal's directions.

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Issues:
Appeal against imposition of penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis:
The Revenue filed an appeal against the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) regarding the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 15,000 under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The duty confirmed under the first proviso to Section 11A1 was Rs. 47,878. The Revenue argued that the penalty should be equivalent to the confirmed duty amount. The Tribunal noted that the assessee did not file any appeal or cross objection against the Revenue's appeal. As a result, the order of the first appellate authority imposing the penalty under Section 11AC was upheld. The Tribunal also acknowledged the benefit of payment of 25% of the confirmed duty under Section 11AC, citing a judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in a previous case.

The Tribunal agreed with the learned counsel's submission that the appellant should be eligible for the benefit of paying 25% of the confirmed duty as penalty, as per the law laid down by the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in a specific case. Consequently, the appellant was directed to deposit 25% of the duty liability within 30 days to avail of the provisions of Section 11AC. It was explicitly stated that failure to comply with this directive would result in the appellant being liable to pay the entire duty liability as a penalty. The appeal filed by the Revenue was disposed of in accordance with the directions provided in the judgment.

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