2018 (9) TMI 570

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....STAT), in a batch of six appeals. 2. Heard Mr. Y. Sreenivasa Reddy, Learned Counsel for the appellants and Sri M.V.J.K. Kumar, Learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondent-Department. 3. A company by name Somakanth Multi Tech. Private Limited is registered with the Department of Central Excise as a manufacturer of copper tubes. Investigation revealed that the said company manufactured and cleared copper tubes without accounting and without payment of excise duty. The investigation also revealed that three individuals by name Sudhir Kothari, Dilip Kothari and Ajay Vyas colluded with the assessee company for the clandestine clearance of the goods. 4. Therefore, show cause notices were issued to the company, its M....

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....e liability of M/s. Dhiran Transport Corporation to be penalized. But CESTAT granted a concession by reducing a penalty of Rs. 20,00,000/- to Rs. 5,00,000/- in the case of three individuals and by reducing the penalty from Rs. 20,00,000/- to Rs. 2,00,000/- in respect of M/s. Dhiran Transport Corporation. 7. Out of three individuals namely Sudhir Kothari, Dilip Kothari and Ajay Vyas, whose penalties were reduced by CESTAT from Rs. 20,00,000/- to Rs. 5,00,000/-, only two individuals namely Sudhir Kothari and Dilip Kothari have come up with the above two appeals under Section 35G of the Act. 8. Though the appellants have raised in their memorandum of grounds of appeal, four substantial questions of law, three of them revolve ei....

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....ainst other persons, if any, in the said proceedings shall also be deemed to be concluded. (2) Any person, who issues - (i)      an excise duty invoice without delivery of the goods specified therein or abets in making such invoice; or (ii)    any other document or abets in making such document, on the basis of which the user of said invoice or document is likely to take or has taken any ineligible benefit under the Act or the rules made there under like claiming of CENVAT credit under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 or refund, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding the amount of such benefit or five thousand rupees, whichever is greater. 10. It is seen from Rule 26(1) extracte....

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....ater. 13. Another contention of the learned counsel for the appellants is that there was no proposal for confiscation and that therefore, the decision of the Larger Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Steel Tubes of India Limited, v. CCE, Indore (2007 (217) 506) would squarely apply. 14. But the Tribunal rightly distinguished the said decision on the ground that the Larger Bench did not focus on the expressions "in any way concerned in transporting, removing, depositing, keeping, concealing, selling and purchasing or in any manner deals with any excisable goods". The Larger Bench focused attention in Steel Tubes of India, only on the words "any person, who acquires possession". Therefore, the decision was distinguishable an....