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TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1985 (8) TMI 365
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....the Central Excises and Salt Act and also of the Rules made thereunder. The demand raised in the first show cause notice, which pertained to the period 1-12-1979 to 31-12-1979 was for ₹ 74,160/-, while the demand in the second show cause notice, which covered the period 1-1-1980 to 31-5-1984 was for ₹ 21,16,030.75. The petitioner-company filed their replies to these notices and also produced evidence against the demands raised against them. After appraising the whole evidence, the Collector of Central Excise confirmed both the demands, which, when added, come to ₹ 21,90,190.75. The penalty imposed under 173Q was ₹ 10 lakhs. 3. The petitioner-company has challenged the order of the Collector before this Tribunal and along with the Memorandum of Appeal, an application has been made under Section 35F of the Central Excises and Salt Act for dispensing with the pre-deposit of the disputed amounts. A further prayer has been made that the recovery of the said amounts be also stayed till the disposal of the appeal. 4. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, the learned Counsel, appearing on behalf of the petitioner-company, has contended that both the demands in the show-caus....
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....riod of limitation. 6. He has further pointed out that different yardsticks have been applied by the same authority, issuing the notice, when an identical case of M/s. Jyoti Electronics was considered. (A copy of the adjudication order of this Company is at page 46 of the paper book). In the said case for collecting same kind of maintenance charges, no differential duty was demanded by adding these charges to the assessable value. On the other hand, the proceedings initiated against the said company were dropped and the exclusion of these maintenance charges was accepted. 7. Question of limitation is indubitably a mixed question of law and fact. The arguments of both the sides will be duly considered at the time of final hearing. We feel that it will cause prejudice to the parties if we express any opinion on this issue at this stage. We, however, take note of the contentious point for considering the interim relief. 8. Dr. Singhvi has further argued that it would cause undue hardship to his clients if the differential duty and the penalty amounts are directed to be deposited and has stressed for their waiver in the circumstances of the case. His main thrust is th....
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....is far from sound and that it would hamper its working and growth if the amounts, which according to him are unjustified, arbitrary and exorbitant are required to be deposited. According to the learned Counsel, the balance of convenience is also in favour of his clients. 10A. On the other hand, Shri Jain, the learned SDR, has contended that the applicants have to show undue hardship in the deposit of the amounts before any interim relief can be granted. He pointed out that the applicants had not disclosed in their price list about the collection of the CMS charges in any manner. It was in answer to a query that on 8th July, 1982, there was a letter from the applicants wherein they had referred to the CMS charges and collection of ₹ 300/- per unit per year. The show-cause notices were issued on the basis of suppression of material facts and wilful mis-statement. According to him, the assessments subsequent to 1982 were provisional. The learned SDR also drew our attention to the balance sheet filed by the applicants and stated that according to the Director's Report for the accounting year 30-4-1984, the company had earned a net profit of ₹ 7.07 lakhs, but had trans....
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....ty to convert assets into cash. In relationship to market, the capacity of the market in a particular security to withstand an amount of buying and selling at reasonable prices." In Thomson's Dictionary of Banking, "liquid assets" have been described as under :- "Liquid Assets. These, sometimes called floating assets, consist of cash and other assets continually undergoing conversion into cash, such as stock, sundry debtors, bills receivable. They are to be distinguished from fixed assets which are acquired for use in the business, such as premises, plant, and machinery. It is the function of an asset, not its nature, which determines into which category it goes, e.g. machinery is a fixed asset in a factory-it is what a business trades with in a business concerned with manufacture of machinery, it will be a liquid asset-it is what the business trades in." The expressions 'liquidity' or 'liquid assets' as understood in legal as well as in banking and commercial sense have been very clearly explained in the two definitions extracted above. In the light of these expositions, the meaning of the expression as put forward by Dr. Singhvi is very narrow. According to him liquidity or li....