Tribunal upholds excise duty decision, remands for reassessment and rules out penalty on manufacturer.

The Tribunal upheld the decision not to levy excise duty, remanded the case for reassessment of assessable value and duty payable, and ruled out imposing a penalty on M/s. Haldi Ram Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The Tribunal considered the appellant's belief, based on the Finance Minister's announcement, that no duty was payable on the goods, and referenced the Sri Chakra Tyres case in its decision.

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Issues: Computation of duty amount and imposition of penalty

Computation of Duty:
The appeal involved the computation of the duty amount and whether a penalty should be imposed on M/s. Haldi Ram Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The appellant's advocate argued that duty was imposed on certain goods under Notification No. 5/98-C.E., but the Finance Minister later announced to put the duty on hold. The appellant started clearing goods after this announcement. The Commissioner confirmed duty and imposed a penalty. The advocate contended that duty calculation and penalty imposition were incorrect. He referred to the Central Excise Act and a Tribunal decision in Sri Chakra Tyres Ltd. v. CCE, Madras. The Departmental Representative opposed, stating that the duty demand was valid as no exemption existed during the clearance period.

Imposition of Penalty:
The Departmental Representative argued for the imposition of a penalty, emphasizing that no exemption applied when goods were cleared without duty payment. The Tribunal considered both arguments and decided not to press for the levy of excise duty. Referring to the Sri Chakra Tyres case, the Tribunal held that the price should be considered as cum-duty for determining the assessable value. The matter was remanded to the Commissioner to recalculate the assessable value and duty payable. The Tribunal also ruled that no penalty should be imposed on the appellants as they genuinely believed, based on the Finance Minister's announcement in Lok Sabha, that no duty was payable on the goods.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal disposed of the appeal by upholding the decision not to levy excise duty, remanding the matter for reassessment of assessable value and duty payable, and ruling out the imposition of a penalty due to the appellants' bona fide belief regarding the duty status of the goods post the Finance Minister's announcement in Lok Sabha.

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