Tribunal upholds duty demand, grants partial payment request, penalizes non-disclosure. Power of attorney holder's penalty reduced.

The Tribunal upheld the demand of duty against the appellant for exceeding the SSI exemption limit. The appellant's request for excess payment appropriation was partially granted, with the option to seek further redressal. The penalty under Section 11AC was upheld due to non-disclosure of goods removal without duty payment. The penalty on the power of attorney holder was reduced, considering his involvement in the non-payment of excise duty. The appeal of the appellant was dismissed, while the power of attorney holder's appeal was partly allowed.

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Issues: Availing SSI exemption, exceeding threshold limit, non-payment of excise duty, penalty imposition, appropriation of excess payment, waiver of penalty, role of power of attorney holder.

Availing SSI Exemption: The appellant availed the value-based SSI exemption but exceeded the threshold limit of Rs. 1.5 Crores during the financial year 2007-2008. Consequently, they did not discharge the excise duty after crossing the exemption limit.

Non-Payment of Excise Duty and Penalty Imposition: The adjudicating authority confirmed a demand of Rs. 6,50,962/- and imposed an equal penalty of Rs. 6,50,962/- under Section 11AC, with an option of reduced penalty to the extent of 25%. Additionally, a personal penalty of Rs. 25,000/- was imposed on the power of attorney holder. The appellant challenged the penalty and interest, seeking relief, which was rejected by the Commissioner (Appeals).

Appropriation of Excess Payment: The appellant sought the appropriation of excess payment of Rs. 89,700/- against the confirmed demand, which was partially granted by the Commissioner (Appeals) with the liberty to seek redressal at an appropriate forum.

Waiver of Penalty and Role of Power of Attorney Holder: The appellant contended that they did not have any mala fide intention as the goods' clearance was declared to tax departments. The Assistant Commissioner argued that the penalty under Section 11AC was rightly imposed due to the appellant's failure to disclose the removal of goods without payment of duty.

Judgment: The Tribunal upheld the demand of duty as uncontested by the appellant. Regarding the excess payment appropriation, the Tribunal noted the appellant's liberty to seek re-credit with their jurisdictional officer, providing no further relief. The penalty under Section 11AC was upheld due to the appellant's failure to register and discharge excise duty after crossing the exemption limit. The penalty imposed on the power of attorney holder was reduced from Rs. 25,000/- to Rs. 5,000/- considering his role in non-payment of excise duty and overall circumstances. Consequently, the appeal of the appellant was dismissed, while the appeal of the power of attorney holder was partly allowed.

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