https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795391 Central excise liability depends on proof of manufacture under the statutory definition, not on representations of manufacturer status made to secure commercial orders. Lack of functional manufacturing infrastructure, machinery and testing facilities, coupled with trading purchases and limited principal-to-principal job work, did not establish that the assessee manufactured the goods. As Revenue produced no independent evidence of manufacture, the duty demand, interest and penalty were unsustainable. Personal penalty under Rule 26 was also not imposable because the goods were not liable to confiscation and the authorised representative acted bona fide without knowledge or reason to believe otherwise. en-us Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:29:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795391 Central excise liability depends on proof of manufacture under the statutory definition, not on representations of manufacturer status made to secure commercial orders. Lack of functional manufacturing infrastructure, machinery and testing facilities, coupled with trading purchases and limited principal-to-principal job work, did not establish that the assessee manufactured the goods. As Revenue produced no independent evidence of manufacture, the duty demand, interest and penalty were unsustainable. Personal penalty under Rule 26 was also not imposable because the goods were not liable to confiscation and the authorised representative acted bona fide without knowledge or reason to believe otherwise. Case-Laws Central Excise Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=795391