TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (2) TMI 1393
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.... Essentiality Certificate from head of the institution is required to be produced. Accordingly, department issued a show cause notice, inter-alia proposing demand of Central Excise Duty of Rs. 74,14,342/- for the period November 2001 to September 2006 with interest thereon and of imposition of penalties under various provisions of law for the following engaged contraventions: (a) Clearances made basing on the essentiality certificates issued by incompetent authority (details listed in Annexure-B to Show Cause Notice). (b) Clearances made to private colleges, which are not registered with DSIR or the essentiality certificates for these clearances were not issued by the Registrars of the universities (who is the authorise person to issue to....
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....duced (Annexure F to the notice). (iii) Dropped penalty of Rs. 1,17,835/- under section 11 AC of the Central Excise Act. (iv) Dropped proceedings in respect of remaining demands. 3. Appellants are aggrieved with this order and are before this forum. 4. In the grounds of appeal, appellants have made a number of submissions which can be broadly summarised as under: 4.1 Non submission of the certificate at the time of clearance cannot be the ground for denying the exemption, placing reliance on the following decisions of the Honourable Tribunal: 1. U.P. State SPG & Co. Ltd Vs. CCE, Allahabad [2005(192) ELT 779 (Tri.-Del.)] 2. Rajasthan Rajya Sahakari SPG. & Wvg. Mills Federation Vs. CCE, Jaipur 235 (Tri)]. 3. Bajaj Tempo Ltd., Vs. Co....
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.... already given considerable reductions in duty demanded after taking into account all aspects of the matter. 6. On going through the facts of the case, we find that the amounts in dispute in this appeal is relatively not very high, the appeal is of 2008 vintage and is in a very narrow compass only on the issue of eligibility of essentiality certificate produced or otherwise. Hence, notwithstanding the absence of appellant, we find it appropriate to dispose of the appeal. 7. As per the provisions of exemption notification No.10/97-CE, dated 01-03-1997, a manufacturer is allowed to clear the goods specified in the notification, without payment of duty to (i) Public funded research institution, (ii) University (iii) Indian Institute of Te....
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....he intention of the Legislature in extending this exemption was only to engage research in public funded research institutions, universities, Institute of Technology etc. Discernibly, there is no allegation that the goods have not been received or used by the intended beneficiaries. In the circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the person who has signed the essentiality certificates in these cases would have done so only after being authorized to do so by the concerned institution. Viewed in this light, essentiality certificates not having been signed by the officer designated in the notification but by some Other Officer of the same Institution is only a curable defect, of a technical nature, and can very well be overlooked. ....