TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (3) TMI 691
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....ise Intelligence, and the discoveries made during the investigation revealed that the petitioner was indulging in evasion of central excise duty by removing finished product i.e. Non-Alloy Steel Ingots without issuing statutory invoice and without payment of central excise duty. Reference was made to the material that was discovered from the search. The notification dated 12.03.2012 contemplates imposition of certain restrictions as to the availment of CENVAT credit facility pending initiation of the punitive proceedings in accordance with law. The petitioner was required to explain within seven days, as to why the restrictions contemplated in para 4 of the notification, be not imposed. The petitioner submitted a detailed representation, dated 23.05.2013, stating that it is only preliminary in nature. Several contentions were urged, and a complaint was made as to the non-furnishing of certain documents. At the end, it was mentioned that the concerned authority must reply pointwise to that representation, to enable the petitioner to submit objections through a detailed representation. This was followed by another letter, dated 29.05.2013, stating that, till the request made by th....
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....ess of law is resorted to. According to the respondents, making of recommendations after hearing the matter by adjudicating authority, to the Central Board, is a step for protection of the manufacturer, and not the one for formation of opinion or taking a decision. It is also urged that over the period, circulars were issued clarifying the matter and removing the apprehension of the manufacturers in this regard. It is also stated that the measures, which are ordered against the petitioner, are in the form of restrictions, without imposing any additional financial liability and that the final order in this behalf would be passed at the later stage in accordance with law. Sri S. D. Sanjay, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that inspite of repeated requests, the documents, relied upon by the respondents, were not furnished to the petitioner and on account of the same it was not in a position to submit a comprehensive reply. He contends that instead of furnishing the documents relied upon, the impugned order was passed, through which severe restrictions, that have effect of crippling the activity of the petitioner. It is submitted that the rules that are challenged in the w....
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....e and second stage dealer or an exporter; may by a notification in the Official Gazette, specify the nature of restrictions including suspension of registration in case of a dealer, types of facilities to be withdrawn and procedure for issue of such order by an officer authorized by the Board.". Rule 12AAA "Power to impose restrictions in certain types of cases .- Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, where the Central Government, having regard to the extent of misuse of CENVAT credit, nature and type of such misuse and such other factors as may be relevant, is of the opinion that in order to prevent the misuse of the provisions of CENVAT credit as specified in these rules, it is necessary in the public interest to provide for certain measures including restrictions on a manufacturer, first stage and second stage dealer or an exporter, may by a notification in the Official Gazette, specify nature of restrictions including restrictions on utilization of CENVAT credit and suspension of registration in case of a dealer and type of facilities to be withdrawn and procedure for issue of such order by an officer authorized by the Board." In the scheme of the Central ....
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.... We have gone through the notification and circulars that are issued in this behalf. The purport thereof is that, whenever any inspection or search is conducted, the relevant material is placed before the concerned directorate. That office would, in turn, issue a show cause notice to the manufacturer requiring it to explain as to why the restrictions contemplated in the rules be not imposed. The authority is placed in obligation to provide a hearing to the manufacturer, and then to pass an order, regarding the restrictions that are to be placed. The restrictions so determined by the authority would not come into force at once. The notification mandates that the conclusions arrived at by the authority must be submitted by the 2nd respondent, in the form of recommendations . It is only when the 2nd respondent considers and approves such recommendations that they become enforceable in their entirety or in part, depending upon the satisfaction of the 2nd respondent. The petitioner submits that the very concept of administrative determination is deviated from, in this case, and it leads to a situation where the authority, which heard the arguments, does not take decision and vice ve....
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....legality. While the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Gullapalli Nageshwara Rao covers the first category of cases, the case on hand falls into the second category. On facts also, this Court finds no basis for the complaint of the petitioner. In the show cause, dated 14.05.2013, the 4th respondent has stated that they listed four sets of documents on which they intended to place reliance upon. It is important to mention that almost all the documents are nothing but those that are said to have been recovered from the office of the petitioner or downloaded from their pen drive or other facilities. The text of the show cause is just half a printed page. However, in the name of raising preliminary objections, the petitioner submitted representation which runs into four closely and fully typed printed pages. It is important to take note of two concluding paragraphs of the so called preliminary objections, which read as under, "11. The above preliminary objections have been filed and further submissions would be made at the time of hearing after receipt of all the required records and documents as indicated above and sufficient time be provided to the noticee after the a....