RT-12 assessment adjustment can recover duty short payment from the assessee's own declaration without a separate show cause notice.

Duty short payment identified during RT-12 assessment on the basis of the assessee's own declaration in the classification list and return can be adjusted under Rule 173-I when the assessing officer works out the correct rebate from the applicable notification and records the excess rebate availed. In that situation, the demand is treated as an assessment-related adjustment, not a fresh reassessment, and a separate show cause notice under Section 11A is not necessary.

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Issues: Whether the demand raised in the RT-12 assessment without a separate show cause notice was valid, and whether Rule 173-I of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 governed the recovery of the short-paid duty so that Section 11A of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 was not attracted.

Analysis: The short payment arose from the appellants' own declaration in the classification list and RT-12 return regarding the rebate available under Notification No. 99/84-C.E. The assessing officer worked out the correct rebate on the quantity of rice bran oil actually used and recorded a detailed endorsement showing the excess rebate availed and the resulting short payment. The assessment was completed on the basis of the return and the approved classification list, which brought the case within Rule 173-I. The demand was not a fresh reassessment contrary to an earlier departmental view, but an adjustment consistent with the appellants' own declaration and the applicable rebate notification. In these circumstances, a separate show cause notice under Section 11A was not necessary.

Conclusion: The RT-12 endorsement was sufficient in the facts of the case, and the demand could be sustained under Rule 173-I without issuing a separate show cause notice.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the departmental demand was held to be a valid assessment-related adjustment made in accordance with the return and the approved classification position.

Ratio Decidendi: Where duty short payment is determined during RT-12 assessment on the basis of the assessee's own declaration and the approved classification list, and the adjustment is made under Rule 173-I, a separate notice under Section 11A is not required.

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