https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786519 The article concludes that a rule requiring payment of excise duty without utilizing Cenvat credit is an arbitrary, disproportionate restriction and therefore unconstitutional, rendering duty demands founded solely on that prohibition unsupportable; however, interest for delayed payment remains payable under the residual rule on interest. It further clarifies that where goods were cleared on invoices and duty was ultimately paid without intent to evade, a penal provision for procedural contraventions is the appropriate sanction rather than a penalty provision reserved for evasion, resulting in substitution of a reduced penalty under the procedural rule. en-us Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 14 Feb 2026 08:29:30 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786519 The article concludes that a rule requiring payment of excise duty without utilizing Cenvat credit is an arbitrary, disproportionate restriction and therefore unconstitutional, rendering duty demands founded solely on that prohibition unsupportable; however, interest for delayed payment remains payable under the residual rule on interest. It further clarifies that where goods were cleared on invoices and duty was ultimately paid without intent to evade, a penal provision for procedural contraventions is the appropriate sanction rather than a penalty provision reserved for evasion, resulting in substitution of a reduced penalty under the procedural rule. Case-Laws Central Excise Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786519