https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=248293 Rule 96ZO(3) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was held ultra vires to the extent it imposed a mandatory minimum penalty for delayed payment under the compounded levy scheme without any discretion. The Court reasoned that the rule-making power under the Act was confined to penal consequences linked to evasion, and that a fixed penalty applying mechanically to every delay, regardless of circumstances or proportionality, was excessive, arbitrary, and an unreasonable restriction on fundamental rights. The revenue's appeals therefore failed because no substantial question of law survived against that earlier view. en-us Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 15 Jun 2015 11:03:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=248293 Rule 96ZO(3) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was held ultra vires to the extent it imposed a mandatory minimum penalty for delayed payment under the compounded levy scheme without any discretion. The Court reasoned that the rule-making power under the Act was confined to penal consequences linked to evasion, and that a fixed penalty applying mechanically to every delay, regardless of circumstances or proportionality, was excessive, arbitrary, and an unreasonable restriction on fundamental rights. The revenue's appeals therefore failed because no substantial question of law survived against that earlier view. Case-Laws Central Excise Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=248293