https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798519 Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 requires proof that a person dealt with goods while knowing that they were liable to confiscation. Distributors cannot be penalised for a manufacturer's alleged excise-duty default without evidence of their ownership or control of the manufacturer, or knowledge of the duty non-payment and consequent confiscability of the goods. Distributors and subsequent purchasers have no legal duty to verify whether the manufacturer properly paid central excise duty, as primary duty liability rests with the manufacturer. Penalties imposed on the distributors were therefore unsustainable. en-us Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:20:31 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798519 Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 requires proof that a person dealt with goods while knowing that they were liable to confiscation. Distributors cannot be penalised for a manufacturer's alleged excise-duty default without evidence of their ownership or control of the manufacturer, or knowledge of the duty non-payment and consequent confiscability of the goods. Distributors and subsequent purchasers have no legal duty to verify whether the manufacturer properly paid central excise duty, as primary duty liability rests with the manufacturer. Penalties imposed on the distributors were therefore unsustainable. Case-Laws Central Excise Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=798519