TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (1) TMI 826
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....Brief facts are as under: 3. The petitioner Smt. Meena K. Agarwal is wife of Shri Krishna Agarwal. Said Shri Krishna Agarwal had been engaged in manufacturing and export of goods by setting up proprietary concerns in the name of M/s. Gujchem International and M/s. Gujarat Impex. There are serious allegations of unpaid excise duties as also wrongly claiming export incentives concerning the said proprietary concerns. The Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs, Vadodara, passed an order dated 21.12.2005 and confirmed duty demand of Rs. 1.87 crores (rounded off) against M/s. Gujchem International and Rs. 2.11 crores (rounded off) against M/s. Gujarat Impex. He also imposed matching penalties against the said concerns in addition to impos....
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....d its earlier order confirming the duty demand against the wife of the assessee and confined its findings to confirming the duty demands against the assessee himself. Effectively therefore, the Tribunal recognized the position of the wife of the deceased assessee when she had appeared as the legal heir of the appellant before the Tribunal. The Tribunal heard her grievance against the legality of the order of the adjudicating authority confirming the duty as the legal heir of the assessee. The Tribunal therefore, while rejecting her appeal merely confirmed the demand of duty against her predecessor. 6. The duty so confirmed could not be recovered. The Commissioner of Central Excise therefore, issued a communication to the Superintendent o....
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....o such notice by a letter dated 22.03.2011, pointing out that the CESTAT has deleted the penalty but confirmed the duty demands against the proprietary concerns of her husband. She further contended that all the four properties proposed to be attached were purchased by her out of her own source of income and not acquired by her through inheritance from her late husband and the department therefore, cannot attach such properties. Her stand in specific terms were as under: "During these years I have owned 4 properties which are proposed to attached by the authority, are purchased out of my own source of income and since purchase of the said properties are in my name. These properties are not from the inheritance of Late Shri K.K.Agar....
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....ment seeks recovery of dues from her immovable properties. The assessee having expired, the government dues can be recovered from his properties even in the hands of his legal heirs who might have inherited such properties. In other words, the property of the deceased can be made answerable for recovery of the unpaid dues of the department. The personal properties of the legal heir which has nothing to do with the inheritance, simply cannot be utilised for such recoveries. In fact, it is not even the case of the department that the recoveries can be effected from the wife of the deceased out of her own personal properties. 10. The issue therefore, in short is that if any of the four immovable properties can trace their acquisition to the....