2005 (9) TMI 410

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.... M have an administrative office building in Kandivali, which needed some doing up. The ground floor and the fourth floor needed particular attention. They engaged one architect, a few carpenters and some workers to design, make and work respective to complete job of renovation, which included making furniture. The arrangement is that while M/s. M & M pay the skilled and unskilled workers and for the material required, the architect would supervise the making of furniture he having originally designed it. Nobody gets paid without the architect saying so. In course of time, the work was got done, everyone got paid and the furniture was put to use. 3. Wooden furniture of a kind used in the offices falls under tariff sub-heading 9403.3....

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....on they however gave the name but incorrect address. The Central Excise Officers found their man all the same and recorded his statement. Statement of others including the Excise-in-Charge of M & M, the Contractor who undertook the job etc was also recorded. Kersi Kapadia is the name of the architect as it turned out. 7. It transpired that Kersi Kapadia, the architect was the one who designed the furniture, selected the carpenters, supervised their work, certified the quality of work, acted as a go-between for clearances to be obtained from various authorities, co-ordinated the work etc. He however did not pay for the material. He also did not pay the skilled and unskilled labour employed. These expenses were met by M & M. The Commi....

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....y furniture manufacturer an architect or an interior decorator would be lurking and for that reason the lurking he or she cannot be called manufacturers of furniture; that he was paid for his services by M & M just as they paid the carpenters; that he was at best a paid labour etc. A copy of the agreement entered into between Kapadia and M & M was produced which delineated the nature of work to be performed by Shri Kapadia. Without prejudice, he argued that the notice is time-barred as he entertained a bona fide belief that he is not required to take out a Central Excise Registration. It is argued that the Department did not correctly arrive at the value of the furniture in question and that resulted in excessive demand for duty. This last ....