https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=221572 Where the statutory conditions in Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act are established, the penalty equal to the duty determined under Section 11A is mandatory and the quantum cannot be reduced by the adjudicating authority or the appellate forum except as expressly permitted by statute. The article notes that the reduced-penalty mechanism operates only within the statutory framework and does not create a general discretion to lessen penalty once fraud, suppression, wilful misstatement, or similar intent to evade duty is proved. The comparison with Rule 173Q was held unhelpful 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 Where the statutory conditions in Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act are established, the penalty equal to the duty determined under Section 11A is mandatory and the quantum cannot be reduced by the adjudicating authority or the appellate forum except as expressly permitted by statute. The article notes that the reduced-penalty mechanism operates only within the statutory framework and does not create a general discretion to lessen penalty once fraud, suppression, wilful misstatement, or similar intent to evade duty is proved. The comparison with Rule 173Q was held unhelpful 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