TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (3) TMI 125
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....85 and they have opted for cenvat credit scheme under the Cenvat Credit Rules 2002. The officers of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence visited the factory premises of Appellant on 2.5.2003 and found that certain incriminating documents were kept in the room of the Security Guard in plastic bags. On examination of these documents, it was found that they contained details of production and clearance of copper enamelled wires which subsequently were found to have not been accounted for in the statutory records of Appellant 1. Follow up search was also conducted at the factory premises of Appellant 2 who is also engaged in the manufacture of enamelled copper wire which also resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents Investigations conducted revealed that Appellant had devised a modus operandi to clandestinely manufacture and clear the final product without payment of duty with the help of documents of their dummy trading firms viz., M/s Bharat Electrical and M/s Anurag Electricals. The said trading firms had no existence at the addresses given and they were only used to camouflage the clandestine clearance of the finished product manufactured by the Ap....
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.... cause why demand of the duty on the clandestine removal of goods be not made, interest be charged on the said amount and penalties be not imposed on all the appellants. All the appellants contested the Show Cause Notice on merits on various grounds. The Adjudicating Authority after following the due process of law confirmed demands; demanded interest thereof imposed equivalent penalty on appellant No. 1 and various penalties on other appellants and has also appropriated amount of Rs 20 lacs paid by appellant No. 1. Aggrieved by such an order, all the appellants preferred appeal before the First Appellate Authority. The First Appellate Authority after following the principles natural justice upheld the order in original except reduced the penalties imposed on appellant No. 3 and 4. Hence this appeal. 3. Ld counsel appearing on behalf of all the appellants took me through the entire case records, more specifically the show causes notice and the impugned order. He also took me through the grounds of appeal filed by them. Subsequently, it is his submission that the first appellate authority has erred in upholding the demand which has been raised. It is his submission that there is ....
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....d with the authorities and no medical test was carried out on so called physical abuse of the appellant's employees. It is his submission that the Chief Executive, Director of the appellants herein have also confirmed that there was a clandestine removal of goods. 6. I have considered the submissions made at length by both sides and perused records. It is seen from the records that the issue involved in this case is regarding allegations of clandestine removal of the goods based upon evidence which were collected from the factory premises. The first appellate authority has recorded the following findings : Statement of various employees of the Appellant were recorded under section 14 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 right from the Excise Clerk and the Authorised Signatory to the Chief Executive and the Director on 2.5.2003 wherein it has been deposed that note books seized on 2.5.2003 under panchnama from the factory premises of M/s Mahesh Enamelled Wires were maintained at the factory which contained details of the clandestine production and clearance of copper enamelled wires by the two unit....
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....nce collected by the Department, as discussed above, further inquiry was made at the transport companies ends. The records available with the transport companies and the statements given by the persons in-charge of the transport companies clearly establish that the said goods have been transported through them. It is further observed that the demands has been worked out on the basis of Lorry receipt and other details collected by the Department and after eliminating the particulars relating to the transport of duty paid goods. The Appellants have, on the other hand, not given any satisfactory reasoning for the existence of such records in the transport companies if the goods stated therein have not been cleared by them at all. Taking into account the incriminating documents recovered from the premises of Appellant 1 and 2, the statements given by the Director, Chief Executive and other employees of Appellants 1 and 2 and also the records,, including Lorry Receipts, found in the premises of the transport companies and the statements given by the persons in-charge of the said transport companies. I find that there is sufficient evidence in the present case on the basis of which i....