2017 (11) TMI 697

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....ew Delhi. M/s Jindal Nickel & Alloys Limited (respondent-assessee) are manufacturers of stainless steel ingots and billets. Officers of Anti-Evasion branch carried out search operations on 22.11.2007 on the respondent factory premises and other connected premises. On the basis of the incriminating documents recovered as well as the statements recorded from all connected persons, show cause notice was issued alleging that the respondent indulged in clandestine clearance of goods manufactured in their factory. The issue was decided by the adjudicating authority vide order-in-original No.60/2009 dated 09.12.2009 in which duty demands were confirmed and penalties were imposed. This order was challenged before the CESTAT who, vide Final Order No....

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....ication No.214/86, making use of the stainless steel ingots supplied by them. The stainless steel flats manufactured by the job workers were cleared directly from the premises of the job workers, but the Central Excise duty on such flats was paid by M/s Jindal. The case made out by the department was that M/s Jindal were clearing stainless ingots clandestinely to the same job workers who, after converting the same into S.S. flats, were clearing the same without payment of duty. During the course of investigation, the main incriminating documents recovered by the Revenue were in the form of printouts and kachha slips recovered from one Sh. S. K. Sahu. It is the case of Revenue that Sh. S. K. Sahu was an employee of M/s Jindal and the confida....

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....R. K. Agarwal in his certificate dated 01.07.2008 to be 1963 MT per annum. The adjudicating authority, in the first round of adjudication, did not consider such capacity certified by the Chartered Engineer. In view of the above, Tribunal vide the Final Order dated 28.09.2011 remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority to decide the matter denovo after ascertaining the production capacity of M/s Jindal and extending cross-examination of many key witnesses whose statements were relied upon. The impugned order was passed in compliance to the CESTAT's remand directions. (i) The adjudicating authority in his impugned order produced the witnesses namely Sh. Mohd. Rizwan, Vinod Kumar and Devendra Jindal for cross-examination. (ii) All ....

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....tire demand. 5. We heard both the sides and perused the record. 6. Revenue in the present appeals has argued that M/s Jindal had the capacity to manufacture S.S. Ingots much more what has been certified by the Chartered Engineer. They have submitted that from the invoice issued by M/s M/s Inductotherm, the manufacturer of the induction furnace used by M/s Jindal, that the furnace in M/s Jindal factory is equipped with two crucibles and if both crucibles are used simultaneously for manufacture in more than one shift, the production can be as high as required to manufacture the quantum of ingots as per show cause notice. 6.1 In this regard, we have perused the invoice issued by M/s Inductotherm (India) Pvt. Ltd., for the induction fu....