https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=54729 A penalty provision prescribing the greater of duty outstanding or Rs. 5,000 was read as fixing only a statutory minimum, not as excluding discretion to assess a higher penalty on the facts. The Tribunal held that the adjudicating authority could consider the nature of the default and any good and valid reason for delay when fixing the amount above the minimum. It also held that a uniform penalty across cases with materially different periods of default was not a reasonable exercise of discretion. The penalty therefore had to be aligned with the extent of delay in each case. en-us Mon, 28 Mar 2005 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:14:18 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=54729 A penalty provision prescribing the greater of duty outstanding or Rs. 5,000 was read as fixing only a statutory minimum, not as excluding discretion to assess a higher penalty on the facts. The Tribunal held that the adjudicating authority could consider the nature of the default and any good and valid reason for delay when fixing the amount above the minimum. It also held that a uniform penalty across cases with materially different periods of default was not a reasonable exercise of discretion. The penalty therefore had to be aligned with the extent of delay in each case. Case-Laws Central Excise Mon, 28 Mar 2005 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=54729