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2015 (12) TMI 1211
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....d that the petitioners be permitted to pay such excise duty from legally availed CENVAT credit. 2. The petitioner No.1, a Company, is engaged in the business of manufacture of pharmaceutical and chemical products. The petitioner had a factory located at village Lodriyal in Taluka Sanand of Ahmedabad District, which was allowed to be operated as a 100% Export Oriented Undertaking (EOU). The petitioners operated the unit as an EOU till January, 2015 when it proposed to exclude one of its manufacturing units from the existing EOU known as partial de-bonding which is permissible under the EOU Scheme. The office of the Development Commissioner, KASEZ has allowed the petitioners' application for partial de-bonding in principle, but a certifica....
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....t for discharging the excise duty liability. By the impugned letter dated 19.08.2015, the representation came to be turned down. 4. Mr. Paresh Dave, learned advocate for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners have brought to the notice of the respondent excise authorities specific cases of de-bonding permitted to EOUs belonging to manufacturers like M/s Alps Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Vatva, Ahmedabad, M/s AIA Engineering Ltd., Odhav, Ahmedabad and M/s Harsha Engineering Ltd., Village Moraiya, where such payments were allowed from legally availed Cenvat credit. It was submitted that an EOU is also a manufacturer and therefore, all the benefits allowed to any manufacturer under the Central Excise law are admissible to an EOU also at the....
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....ll out Rs. 61,46,661/- from its working capital to pay the excise duty foregone in cash, whereas the amount of Cenvat credit would remain idle resulting in financial difficulties and liquidity crunch. It was contended that when similarly situated persons have been granted the benefit of payment of excise duty from the Cenvat credit, the act of the respondents in not extending similar treatment to the petitioners amounts to discrimination and hence, the petitioners are entitled to invoke the writ jurisdiction of this court against the impugned orders/letters. 4.2 In support of his submissions, the learned counsel placed reliance upon the decision of this court in the case of Ralli Engine Ltd. v. Union of India and others, 2004 (62) RLT 60....
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.... as prayed for. It was submitted that no prima facie case has been made out by the petitioners, inasmuch as, the inputs utilized in manufacture of final products have been exported out of India and the capital goods have been rendered to nil value due to depreciation or removed to any other 100% EOU under 100% EOU scheme and hence, there was no liability of duty. It was submitted that the duty foregone on procurement is to be made good by paying the leviable duty in cash or from the current account as if the petitioners are buying the same now. Insofar as the examples quoted by the petitioners in respect of some other 100% EOUs, it was submitted that the second respondent is not in a position to make any comment since the said units are sit....
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....it account. In paragraphs 9 and 14 of the memorandum of petition, the petitioners have clearly stated the names of various parties in whose cases the Ahmedabad Commissionerate has permitted payment of excise duty from the Cenvat credit account. The petitioners have also stated that all over the country, EOUs are permitted to discharge the central excise duty foregone from the Cenvat credit account. Thus, on the ground of parity alone, the petitioners have made out a strong prima facie case, inasmuch as, when similarly situated assessees have been permitted to pay the excise duty foregone from the Cenvat credit account, there is no reason as to why the petitioners should be denied such benefit. Besides, the petitioner company is a reputed we....