https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=122041 Under the compounded levy regime, duty was not enforceable for the period when the factory remained closed and central excise registration had been surrendered, because the factual basis for continuing liability no longer survived. By contrast, penalty for delayed payment of duty under Rule 96ZP(3) was treated as mandatory once payment was made after the due date, and the lower authority had no discretion to reduce it below the prescribed amount. The demand was therefore unsustainable, while the penalty reduction was inconsistent with the rule and had to be reversed. en-us Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:39:10 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=122041 Under the compounded levy regime, duty was not enforceable for the period when the factory remained closed and central excise registration had been surrendered, because the factual basis for continuing liability no longer survived. By contrast, penalty for delayed payment of duty under Rule 96ZP(3) was treated as mandatory once payment was made after the due date, and the lower authority had no discretion to reduce it below the prescribed amount. The demand was therefore unsustainable, while the penalty reduction was inconsistent with the rule and had to be reversed. Case-Laws Central Excise Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=122041