1999 (8) TMI 372 - AT - Central Excise

Appellate Tribunal Cancels Duty & Penalty on Aerated Waters Manufacturing Case

The Appellate Tribunal CEGAT, Mumbai allowed the appeals in the case involving interpretation of duty demand under section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, ... Demand Issues involved: Interpretation of duty demand u/s 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944 based on concentrate utilization for manufacturing aerated waters.In the case before the Appellate Tribunal CEGAT, Mumbai, the appellants manufactured aerated waters using soft drink concentrate. The jurisdictional officers raised concerns regarding the discrepancy between the concentrate utilized and the quantity of aerated waters produced, leading to show cause notices alleging short levy of duty. Multiple adjudication orders confirmed the duty demands and imposed penalties. The impugned order confirmed duty amounting to Rs. 38,45,172/- and imposed a penalty of the same amount u/s 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944.The advocate for the appellants referred to a previous Tribunal judgment in favor of the assessees regarding a similar issue. The Tribunal had held that the norm of production under Rule 173E should consider various factors, not just raw material, to determine duty demands. Relying on this precedent, the Tribunal allowed the appeals in the current case and set aside the impugned order, granting consequential relief as per law.