2020 (2) TMI 1199
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....ices to M/s Kothi Steel Ltd. The appellant sold waste and scrap of iron steel (imported as well as domestic) to M/s Kothi Steel Ltd. To adjust the payment received from M/s Kothi Steel Ltd., there is no evidence of clearance. For this offence, a penalty under Rule 15 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 and Rule 26 of Central Excise Rule, 2002 were imposed on the ground that the appellant alongwith Shri Mohammad Firdos Kothi, Managing Director of M/s Kothi Steel Ltd. involved in devising a well orchestrated plan to default the Government Revenue by arranging bogus invoices and subsequent availment of Cenvat Credit on the strength of those invoices by M/s Kothi Steel Ltd. A Show Cause Notice was issued wherein penalty under Rule 15 of Cenvat Credit ....
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....of Madras High Court in the case of M/s Aeon Formulations Pvt. Ltd v/s The Commissioner of Central Excise, Puducherry 2019 (12) TMI 530. 3. Shri Sanjiv Kinker, Learned Superintendent (Authorised Representative) appearing on behalf of the Revenue reiterates the findings of the impugned order. He submits that the judgment in the case of Aeon Formulations Pvt. Ltd. (supra) relied upon by the learned counsel cannot be applied in the present case as the facts of that case are entirely different from the facts of the present case. He submits that in the said case, the assessee had paid the entire amount of duty with interest on mistake being pointed out. In the said case, the Hon'ble High Court of Madras has held that in the case of appellant, i....
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....VAT credit in respect of input or capital goods or input services has been taken or utilised wrongly by reason of fraud, collusion or any willful mis-statement or suppression of facts, or contravention of any of the provisions of the Excise Act, or of the rules made thereunder with intent to evade payment of duty, then, the manufacturer shall also be liable to pay penalty in terms of the provisions of section 11AC of the Excise Act. (3) In a case, where the CENVAT credit in respect of input or capital goods or input services has been taken or utilised wrongly by reason of fraud, collusion or any willful mis-statement or suppression of facts, or contravention of any of the provisions of these rules or of the Finance Act or of the rules mad....
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....Rule 26(2)(ii) as invalid. Therefore, ratio of this judgment is not directly applicable. On the contrary, we find that the same issue has been considered by the Hon'ble High Court of Punjab & Haryana in the case of Vee Kay Enterprise 2011 266 ELT 436 (P&H) which was followed by this Tribunal in the case of Commissioner of Central excise, Ahmedabad v/s Navneet Agarwal 2012 (276) E.L.T. 515 (Tri- Ahmd.) wherein it was held that penalty under Rule 26 (2) is imposable on the person who has issued the invoices without supply of goods. The Tribunal's order is reproduced below: "4. I have considered the submissions made by learned DR. In this case, the issue as to whether Shri Navneet Agarwal is liable to penalty under Rule 26 of the Central Exc....
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....n who acquires possession of, or is in any way concerned in transporting, removing, depositing, keeping, concealing, selling or purchasing, or in any other manner deals with, any excisable goods which he knows or has reason to believe are liable to confiscation under the Act or these rides, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding the duty on such goods or [two thousand rupees], whichever is greater. (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 m....