CESTAT allowed the appeal and set aside the demands and...

CESTAT allowed the appeal and set aside the demands and penalties against the Appellants, holding that the charge of clandestine manufacture/removal was not proved. The Tribunal found allegations rested on assumptions and presumptions without corroborative evidence: no buyer statements, no proved transportation, and no proper investigation linking third-party recoveries to the Appellants. Statements recorded during investigation lacked the Section 9D procedural safeguards and were therefore inadmissible; electronic print-outs were inadmissible for want of the requisite Section 36B certification; payment of duty during investigation did not constitute an admission. Stock shortfall based on eye-estimation was unreliable. Consequential penalties were quashed.