2012 (8) TMI 845 - AT - Central Excise

Tribunal allows waiver of penalty pre-deposit, stays recovery pending appeal. Appellant eligible for reduced duty liability benefit.

The Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, allowing the waiver of pre-deposit of the penalty amount and staying the recovery until the appeal was ... waiver of pre-deposit of penalty - Eligibility of benefit of Serial No. 90/93 of the Notification No. 4/2006-C.E., dated 1-3-2006 - Held that:- Appellant has availed the benefit of Serial No. 93 of the notification, which talks about discharge of duty liability at the rate of 8% on the paper and paper boards manufactured by the appellant. It is undisputed that the appellant is covered under serial No. 93. At the same time, Revenue’s case is that the appellant is required to avail benefit of Sl. No. 90 of the said notification, as the said entry talks about exemption to first clearance of 3500 MT of paper and paper board. On perusal of the said notification, we are of the considered view that appellant cannot be, prima facie, denied to benefit of discharging reduced rate of excise duty as per Sl. No. 93 of the Notification No. 4/2006-C.E. - appellant has made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit of amounts involved. Accordingly, the application for the waiver of pre-deposit of penalty amount involved is allowed and recovery thereof stayed till the disposal of appeal - Stay granted. Issues Involved:Eligibility of benefit under Serial No. 90/93 of Notification No. 4/2006-C.E.Analysis:The case involved a stay petition seeking the waiver of pre-deposit of a penalty amount of Rs. 10,000. The main issue in question was the eligibility of the appellant for the benefit under Serial No. 90/93 of Notification No. 4/2006-C.E., dated 1-3-2006, as amended from time to time.Upon reviewing the records, it was established that the appellant had availed the benefit of Serial No. 93 of the notification, which allowed for the discharge of duty liability at a reduced rate of 8% on paper and paper boards manufactured by the appellant. The appellant was clearly covered under Serial No. 93. However, the Revenue contended that the appellant should have availed the benefit of Serial No. 90, which provided an exemption for the first clearance of 3500 MT of paper and paper board.After careful consideration of the notification in question, it was concluded that the appellant should not be denied the benefit of discharging duty at a reduced rate as per Serial No. 93. The Tribunal found that the appellant had established a prima facie case for the waiver of pre-deposit of the amounts involved. Consequently, the application for the waiver of pre-deposit of the penalty amount was allowed, and the recovery was stayed pending the disposal of the appeal. The Registry was instructed to connect this appeal with Appeal No. E/372/2009.In summary, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, allowing the waiver of pre-deposit of the penalty amount and staying the recovery until the appeal was resolved, based on the interpretation of the relevant notification and the appellant's eligibility for the benefit under the said notification.