2019 (10) TMI 637

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....has confirmed demand of central excise duty of Rs. 50,31,773/- alongwith applicable interest and equivalent penalty under Section 11AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944, on the Company as well as personal penalty of Rs. 5,00,000/- on the Director of the Company under Rule 26(1) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002. The period in dispute herein is March 2006 to January 2008. 2. Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that the appellant company Swapna Printing Works Pvt Ltd., is engaged in the business of printing of diaries for Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). It is the case of the Department that the appellant did not intentionally pay duty on the goods classifiable under chapter sub heading 48201090 of the Central Excise Tariff which beca....

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....mption benefit is extended, the maximum duty liability will be Rs. 29,82,270/. It is also submitted that since they have already paid the duty amount of Rs. 50,31,773/-, the differential amount of Rs. 20,49,503/- stands paid in excess. He also pleaded that as per the contract, LIC has also reimbursed the duty amount paid by the appellant at the investigation stage, which facts are on record and clearly shows that the appellant will not stand to gain by not depositing the duty amount which otherwise would be borne by the customer i.e. LIC. He also argued on limitation, in absence of any wilful suppression, more specifically when the duty liability arose on withdrawal of exemption notification. He relied on the decisions in the case of Grand ....

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....de name of another person. The brand name or trade name stands explained in the notification itself as a name or a mark which is used in relation to such specified goods for the purpose of indicating or so to indicate a connection in the course of trade between such specified goods and some person using such name or mark. As such in terms of the said definition of brand name, the same should represent a connection between the person owning such name, in the mind of the public, in the course of its trade. Admittedly, the diaries manufactured by the appellant under the job work of LIC do not bear any price and are not meant to be traded by LIC. In such a scenario, the definition of brand name is not satisfied and the provision of clause 4 of ....

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.... in the absence of a positive act of suppression of fact, collusion with intent to evade duty, we find that extended period cannot be invoked. The department was aware of the budgetary changes from time to time and there was nothing to stop them from visiting the appellants in even time and demand duty. The fact that all the Five Star Hotels make and sell such bakery items is invariably known/acknowledged and is not certainly a fact which could have been unearthed only after investigation or audit. The appellant having submitted the documents like Balance Sheets as and when asked by the department and having paid duty, in protest or otherwise; before issue of show cause notice do not appear to have suppressed any material fact to warrant in....