2009 (11) TMI 736

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....ain suppliers of steel products, transporters and Shri Bhagwan Das Agarwal, Partner, Nova led the authority to tentatively conclude that the appellants M/s. Bhagirathi Iron and Steel Pvt. Ltd. (Bhagirathi) had received 3,339.94 M.Ts. of billets out of the above 26,312.84 M.Ts. clandestinely cleared by Nova. The appellants had manufactured 3139.544 M.Ts. of M.S. bars etc. from the billets received from Nova and cleared them without following statutory formalities including payment of duty. After due process of law, vide Order-in-Original No. 43/Commr./MRT-1/97 dated 16-12-97, the Commissioner confirmed demand of Rs. 31,39,543.60 against Bhagirathi and imposed on them a penalty of Rs. 25,00,000/-. He also confiscated plant, machinery and buil....

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....at clandestine clearance by the appellants was found relying mainly on statements of Shri Agarwal, a few suppliers of steel products and a few transporters. The main documentary evidence relied on were several Goods Receipts (GRs) issued by the transporters which had allegedly shown particulars of billets received by the assessee without the cover of excise invoices from Nova. Despite several requests by the appellants, these GRs were not supplied to them. They were provided photocopies of voluminous documents a couple of days before the hearing fixed on 27-9-04. Several of these documents were in Hindi. Considering the time required to go through this voluminous material, they had sought adjournment of hearing. They had also sought cross e....

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....ies of several relied upon documents. The Commissioner recorded that he had offered opportunity to the assessee to cross examine the parties as per the request of the assessee, but the assessee had chosen not to avail the opportunity. He observed that the request for cross examination was a ploy to delay adjudication. We find that the Commissioner rushed through the proceedings without allowing the assessee an effective opportunity of hearing. We find that Commissioner should have ensured that the noticee received legible copies of relied upon documents before he decided the case. This was all the more necessary since the consistent stand of the assessee had been that the various statements relied upon had not indicated that the appellants ....