The appellant was charged with evasion of central excise duty on...

The appellant was charged with evasion of central excise duty on the quantity of SKO cleared from the refinery intended for public distribution system. The CESTAT held that there was no willful suppression or misdeclaration of facts to defraud the exchequer. Following the Supreme Court's judgment in Nizam Sugar Factory, the CESTAT ruled that the subsequent show cause notices did not involve suppression of facts already known to the authorities. Since the goods were intended for public distribution system without any end-use condition, and intermixing was inevitable, the CESTAT relied on the Dalmia Dadri Cement Ltd. case to allow full exemption from duty after clearance. Consequently, the appeal against recovery of central excise duty was allowed.