https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33458 Penalty for short-payment of duty under the compounded levy regime was reduced because the dispute arose during the unsettled initial period of Rule 96ZO(3), and the duty was later discharged with interest after the legal position was settled. As there was no clandestine removal, no total non-payment, and no evidence of deliberate evasion, no mens rea could be attributed. The prescribed penalty under Rule 96ZO was treated as a maximum and discretionary measure, so reduction of the penalty was justified and required no interference. en-us Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 16 May 2009 00:00:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33458 Penalty for short-payment of duty under the compounded levy regime was reduced because the dispute arose during the unsettled initial period of Rule 96ZO(3), and the duty was later discharged with interest after the legal position was settled. As there was no clandestine removal, no total non-payment, and no evidence of deliberate evasion, no mens rea could be attributed. The prescribed penalty under Rule 96ZO was treated as a maximum and discretionary measure, so reduction of the penalty was justified and required no interference. Case-Laws Central Excise Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=33458