https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=104459 Excise duty demand and its adjustment were sustained because the duty element had already been debited in the records and was not seriously disputed. Appropriation of the bank guarantee and security amount was set aside because no specific opportunity had been given to produce the seized goods and vehicle before enforcing the bond. The penalty was reduced because the lapse had been admitted, duty was paid, and the record did not establish sufficient mala fides to justify the higher penalty. The stated principle is that security furnished under a bond cannot be appropriated without a specific opportunity to comply, and penalty must remain proportionate to the proven lapse and surrounding bona fides. en-us Wed, 22 Nov 2000 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:00:25 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=104459 Excise duty demand and its adjustment were sustained because the duty element had already been debited in the records and was not seriously disputed. Appropriation of the bank guarantee and security amount was set aside because no specific opportunity had been given to produce the seized goods and vehicle before enforcing the bond. The penalty was reduced because the lapse had been admitted, duty was paid, and the record did not establish sufficient mala fides to justify the higher penalty. The stated principle is that security furnished under a bond cannot be appropriated without a specific opportunity to comply, and penalty must remain proportionate to the proven lapse and surrounding bona fides. Case-Laws Central Excise Wed, 22 Nov 2000 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=104459