High Court Allows Revenue's Appeal on Duty Exemption for Light Commercial Vehicles

The High Court allowed the Revenue's reference application under section 35H of the Central Excise Act against the CEGAT order. The Court directed the Tribunal to send a statement of case for questions on recoverability of duty, interest on confirmed demand, and interpretation of exemption notifications for duty exemption on imported components for manufacturing Light Commercial Vehicles. The Tribunal was instructed to refer the questions within three months with necessary enclosures. No costs were awarded in this case.

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Issues involved: Reference application u/s 35H of Central Excise Act against CEGAT order.

Comprehensive details of the judgment:

1. The Revenue filed a reference application u/s 35H of the Central Excise Act against the order passed by CEGAT. The Revenue sought a reference from the Tribunal on the question of whether duty not levied can be recoverable only after a quasi-judicial order is made, and if interest on confirmed demand was leviable u/s 28AB of the Customs Act. The High Court allowed the application, directing the Tribunal to send a statement of case for the questions to be answered on merits.

2. The High Court framed questions for reference to the Tribunal regarding the interpretation of exemption notifications for claiming duty exemption on imported components for manufacturing Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV). The questions also addressed whether the Tribunal was justified in granting the benefit of concessional duty rate to the assessee and whether interest could be claimed by the department under relevant sections.

3. The High Court directed the Tribunal to refer the questions within three months along with all necessary enclosures for answering them. The statement of the case was required to contain all relevant facts and documents supporting the questions referred. No costs were awarded in this matter.

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