Approved classification lists defeated extended limitation, making the excise demand time-barred and the director's penalty unsustainable.

Approved classification lists and regular RT-12 assessments prevented the department from invoking the extended limitation period under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act where no further inquiry was made despite the disclosed descriptions of goods. The absence of specifications and drawings with the lists did not, by itself, justify treating the later demand as within time, so the demand raised after several years was time-barred and unsustainable. Once the demand against the company failed, the personal penalty on the director had no independent basis and could not survive.

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Issues: Whether the duty demand was barred by limitation under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and whether the penalty imposed on the director could survive once the demand against the company was set aside.

Analysis: The classification lists filed by the assessee described the goods and had been approved by the proper officer. The approval could not be treated as a mere formality, and the department was expected to make further enquiries if it doubted the classification. The absence of specifications and drawings with the lists did not, by itself, justify invocation of the extended period, since such documents were not required to be filed along with the classification lists. In view of the approved lists and regular RT-12 assessments, the demand raised after several years was beyond the permissible limitation period. Once the demand against the company failed, the personal penalty on the director had no independent basis.

Conclusion: The duty demand was time-barred and unsustainable, and the penalty on the director also could not stand.

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