2023 (3) TMI 1123

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...., alleging that he was overall in-charge of the Company and had the knowledge of wrong availment of Cenvat credit by M/s. Diamond Power Transformers Limited. Accordingly, penalty under Rule 15(1) of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 was imposed. Being aggrieved by the said imposition of penalty in impugned order-in-original, the appellant filed the present appeal. 2. Shri S. Suryanarayanan, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant submits that appellant Shri Pranatharthiharan Sridharan is a technocrat and employed as Director operations and looking after production activities of the Company. The appellant being a technical person he would not involved in the offense of wrong availment of credit therefore, penalty imposed under Section ....

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....d such person, shall be liable to a penalty [in term of clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11AC of the Excise Act or sub-section (1) of section 76 of the Finance Act (32 of 1994), as the case may be]". From the plain reading of Rule 15(1), we find that a person shall be liable to penalty who takes or utilize Cenvat credit in respect of input or capital goods or input services wrongly or in contravention of any of the provisions of these Rules. In the facts of the present case, it is M/s. Diamond Power Transformers Limited who has availed fraudulent Cenvat credit, the appellant being employee Director has not availed Cenvat credit for himself therefore, Rule 15(1) is not applicable on the person who has neither availed C....

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.... or contravention of any of the provisions of the Excise Act or the rules made thereunder with intention 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) If any person, takes CENVAT credit in respect of input services, wrongly or without taking reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate service tax on the said input services has been paid as indicated in the document accompanying the input services specified in rule 9, or contravenes any of the provisions of these rules in respect of any input service, then, such person, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to an amount not exceeding ten thousand rupees. (4) In a case, where ....