TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (3) TMI 1498
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....ation and paid excise duty upto March 2004 for cakes and pastries. It emerged that total turnover of all excisable goods during 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 was Rs. 18,39,70,967/-, respectively. It has also been noticed that they had purchased raw materials like suji, maida etc. and manufactured cakes and pastries and cleared the same to various airlines. They had taken out registration and paid appropriate central excise duty upto March 2004 for cakes and pastries. Subsequently, they started availing SSI exemption and stopped paying excise duty from April 2004 onwards in terms of Notification No.8/2003-CE dt. 1.3.2003 to avail duty free exemption . It therefore appeared to the department that appellants had exceeded the limit of v....
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....In appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) vide order dt. 01.12.2011 reduced the penalty on Dole to Rs. 10,000/- however upheld the remaining portion of the order of original authority. Hence these appeals. 3. Today when the matter came up for hearing, on behalf of the appellant Shri Raghavan Ramabhadran made oral and written submissions which can be broadly summarized as under : (i) It is not disputed that cakes and pastries were dutiable during the period of dispute. (ii) However, show cause notice has also included cost of bought out items like water bottles etc. The appellant supplied to the airlines not just cakes and pastries but also a number of items including bought out items packed together. Hence they had attained the nature of goo....
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....ure and sale of cakes, pastries and cookies etc. and duly filing monthly returns in ER-1 forms.....". The said SCN had been issued to include handling and loading charges in the assessable value. On adjudication, the adjudicating authority vide order dt. 21.09.2004 had dropped proceedings initiated in the said SCN. (iv) Ld. Advocate drew our attention to letter dt. 24.12.2002 in page 40 of the appeal book to point out that appellants had informed the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner that they were engaged in the business of airline and institutional catering. It had also been informed that cakes, pastries and cookies prepared in the flight kitchen are sold to various airlines without any brand, trademark or logo; that chocolates are n....
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....d 8/2003-CE dt.28.02.2003. (vi) In adjudication, the adjudicating authority vide an order dt. 31.10.2003 copy of which is placed in page 49 of the appeal book has disallowed the benefit of exemption claim under the Notification No.8/2002 and 8/2003- for the financial years 2002-03 2003-04 and vacated the protest lodged by appellants. In appeal, however Commissioner (Appeals) vide order dt. 09.03.2004 set aside the said order and allowed the appeal and ordered that appellant was entitled for full consequential relief by way of refund of duty paid under protest. (vii) In the circumstances, ld. Advocate submits that the facts of the matter were known to the department right from 2002 and hence charge of suppression made in the SCN dt. 17.12.....
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....ule 3B, on the basis of material or component which gives its essential character. Much persuasive as this argument may appear at the first blush, we note the appellant has brought this contention for the first time at the Tribunal stage. Also, as correctly pointed out by the Ld. A.R, they had themselves classified cakes, pastries etc. as per their individual tariff entries on which there was no dispute between them and the department. In the circumstances, we are afraid that this argument does not hold water. 4.5 However, coming to the contention of limitation, we find merit in the argument of Ld. Advocate. A number of related proceedings had earlier been initiated against the appellant, including one of denial of SSI exemption Notificati....