2018 (5) TMI 2041

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....le interest of Rs.3,04,072 under section 11AB of Central Excise Act, 1944, besides imposition of penalties of like amount under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 on clearances effected between June 2005 and July 2005, in October 2005 and between December 2005 and March 2006. 2. The appellant is a manufacturer of 'Calcium Prudent toothpaste' on which duty liability had been discharged under section 4 of Central Excise Act, 1944 upon clearances effected to M/s Gillette Diversified Operations Ltd and intended for delivery to Canteen Stores Department (CSD) by claiming coverage under special facility incorporated in circular no. 625/16/02 dated 28th February 2002 of Central Board of Excise & Customs which was objected to by the lower au....

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....Excise Act 1944 even as the responsibility for such affixing is enforced at the last stage of retail. However, the Tribunal, after elaborating upon the primacy of such intent, held that '8. The onus for the affixing the 'maximum retail price', the sole prescription among the many that is pertinent to Section 4A of Central Excise Act, 1944, rests not with the manufacturer but with the one who pre-packages the goods; to the extent that the two converge, the manufacturer is saddled with the responsibility to do so. The peculiarity of this consumer protection law is that an offence against this statute, if any, becomes visible only at the shelf of the retailer but the offence is attributed to the manufacturer or the entity that has packed the....

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....ended exception in the circular supra is without any justifiable basis; the law relating to 'pre-packaged goods' does not apply to 'bulk supplies' and it can reasonably be inferred to refer to supplies of all goods to the Canteen Stores Department (CSD). It, therefore, arises for consideration whether the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) is a retailer. In the present dispute, if the provisions of law of legal metrology is enforceable by the legal metrology officers against the Canteen Stores Department (CSD), the Rules framed under Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 is applicable to the impugned goods and, by extension, Section 4A of Central Excise Act, 1944. 11. The Canteen Stores Department (CSD) is wing of the Ministry of Defen....