Delay in return

[sunil mehta]

1) A Dealer stopped trading in 'excisable commodity'in June'04.Thereafter it did not file Qly. return as per Rule 9(8) of  Cenvat Credit Rule, 2004. They were under the impression that it need not file return after it stopped trading activities.(regn. certificate was not surrendered).The firm then filed Qly.return for six quarters in Sept.2007 before issue of notice. 2)The Asst.Comm.of C.Excise has imposed a penalty of Rs.5000/- per quarter (i.e Rs.30000/- for 6 qtrs.)under rule 27 of Central Excise Rule, 2002. 3)Asst.comm. says...'I find that the reasons for delay in filing is not tenable and therefore,their request to condone the delay for technical lapse and taking lenient view by way of dropping the show cause notice cannot be accepted' Pl.guide me.Any case laws for above matter? Note:The assessee here stopped excisable activites but continued with non-excisable activites since 2004 Thanking you,

[Surender Gupta]

I wish you would get the relief from the appropriate forum since there was genuine grounds.

AI Summary

Delay in filing excise returns: penalty challenged where returns were filed after cessation of excisable activity but registration remained active. A dealer ceased excisable trading in June 2004 but did not surrender registration and did not file quarterly Cenvat returns under Rule 9(8) until September 2007, when six quarters were filed before notice. The Assistant Commissioner imposed penalties under Rule 27 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 for delayed filing and refused to condone the delay, raising issues about filing obligations after cessation of excisable activity, condonation of delay, and penalty applicability.