Tribunal grants appeal on molasses duty remission, citing precedent and circulars. Loss below threshold.

The Tribunal overturned the Commissioner's decision to reject the remission application for duty on molasses, citing previous Tribunal decisions and CBEC circulars. The Tribunal held that the reported loss of 0.13% should be condoned as it was below the 2% threshold, and timely intimation was provided to the Range office. Consequently, the appeal was allowed with consequential relief.

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Issues:
1. Rejection of remission application for duty on molasses due to alleged leakage during filling.
2. Interpretation of circulars regarding condonation of storage losses.
3. Applicability of previous Tribunal decisions on the current case.

Analysis:
1. The appellant appealed against the Commissioner's rejection of the remission application for duty on molasses due to potential leakage during filling in steel tanks. The Commissioner attributed any loss to careless handling by the assessee, disallowing any excuse for the same.

2. The appellant's Advocate referred to Circulars by CBEC clarifying that storage losses up to 2% may be condoned, regardless of the type of storage tanks. The Advocate cited previous Tribunal decisions like Ramala Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd. v. CCE, Meerut-I, Shakumbari Sugar & Allied Industries Ltd. v. CCE, Meerut, among others, to support the argument that the loss in this case (0.13% for the season) should be condoned.

3. The learned D.R. reiterated the Commissioner's findings, but upon review, the Tribunal found that the issue was covered by previous Tribunal decisions and the CBEC circulars. Referring to the case of Ramala Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd., it was established that the intimation of loss within 24 hours was not applicable in cases of evaporation or seepage. As the loss reported was less than 2% and timely intimation was made to the Range office, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order, allowing the appeal with consequential relief.

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