https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=221572 Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act imposes a mandatory penalty equal to the duty determined under Section 11A where fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, or contravention intended to evade duty is established. The statutory mechanism for a reduced penalty applies only in the expressly prescribed circumstances. Neither the adjudicating authority nor the appellate Tribunal has residual discretion to reduce the penalty once Section 11AC applies. Comparisons with Rule 173Q do not alter this result because Section 11AC creates a fixed penalty regime. en-us Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 06 May 2013 12:35:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=221572 Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act imposes a mandatory penalty equal to the duty determined under Section 11A where fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, or contravention intended to evade duty is established. The statutory mechanism for a reduced penalty applies only in the expressly prescribed circumstances. Neither the adjudicating authority nor the appellate Tribunal has residual discretion to reduce the penalty once Section 11AC applies. Comparisons with Rule 173Q do not alter this result because Section 11AC creates a fixed penalty regime. Case-Laws Central Excise Fri, 06 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=221572