https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=426255 A charge of clandestine removal cannot rest on unreliable stock verification or uncorroborated retracted statements. The alleged shortage was not satisfactorily established because the panchnama omitted key weighment details, weighment records were not properly examined, the weighbridge had malfunctioned, and the reported stock-taking appeared impracticable and internally inconsistent. The retracted statements of company personnel also lacked probative value because the statutory procedure for admissibility under Section 9D of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was not followed and no independent corroboration was produced. On that basis, the demand of duty, interest, and penalties was held unsustainable. en-us Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 12 Aug 2022 08:27:52 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=426255 A charge of clandestine removal cannot rest on unreliable stock verification or uncorroborated retracted statements. The alleged shortage was not satisfactorily established because the panchnama omitted key weighment details, weighment records were not properly examined, the weighbridge had malfunctioned, and the reported stock-taking appeared impracticable and internally inconsistent. The retracted statements of company personnel also lacked probative value because the statutory procedure for admissibility under Section 9D of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was not followed and no independent corroboration was produced. On that basis, the demand of duty, interest, and penalties was held unsustainable. Case-Laws Central Excise Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=426255