2023 (9) TMI 178

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....by the appeals were dismissed. 2. The brief facts are that the both the appellants are Directors of the Company, M/s. Indian Concast Pvt. Ltd., which is engaged in the manufacture of copper wire rods. On the basis of an information received from Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) that Shri Amit Gupta, Director of M/s. Progressive Alloys India Pvt. Ltd. along with associated registered dealer units viz. M/s. Forward Minerals, M/s. Unnati Alloys Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Metal Alloys Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Brilliant Metals Pvt. Ltd. was passing inadmissible cenvat credit to various manufacturers of excisable goods without physical delivery of the goods. An investigation was carried out and it was observed that M/s. Moral Alloys had....

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...., Director of M/s. Indian Concast Pvt. Ltd., B-41, Jhilmil Industrial Area, Shahadra, Delhi-95. ii) I impose penalty amounting toRs.1,50,000/- (Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand only) under Rule 15 (2) of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 read with Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 read with Section 11 AC of the Central Excise Act, 1944 upon Shri J.K. Agarwal, Director of M/s. Indian Concast Pvt. Ltd., B-41, Jhilmil Industrial Area, Shahadra, Delhi-110095. iii) I impose penalty amounting to Rs.1,50,000 (Rupees One lakh fifty thousand only) under Rule 15(2) of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 read with Rule 26 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 read with Section 11 AC of the Central Excise act, 1944 upon Shri V.K. Agarwal, Director of M/s. Indian C....

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....dings against the co-noticees (Directors) when the subject matter of the show cause notice has been settled by the main noticee viz. the Company under SVLDR Scheme. 8. Learned Counsel for the appellant referred to the provisions of Section 124 (1) of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019, which reads as under:- "124 (1) Subject to the conditions specified in sub-section (2), the relief available to a declarant under this scheme shall be calculated as follows:- (a) Where the tax dues are relatable to a show cause notice or one or more appeals arising out of such notice, which is pending as on the 30th day of June,d 2019, and if the amount of duty is, -- (i) Rupees fifty lakhs or less, then seventy per cent of the tax dues; (ii) more than rup....

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....uoted below:- "Section 124(1) (b) provides that where the tax dues are relatable to a show cause notice for late fee or penalty only, and the amount of duty in the said notice has been paid or is 'nil', then the entire amount of late fee or penalty will be waived. This section, inter alia, covers cases of penal action against co-noticees. In case of a show cause notice demanding duty/tax from the main tax payer and proposing penal action against co-noticees, it is clarified that the co-noticees can not avail the benefits of the scheme till such time the duty demand is not settled. Once, the main noticee discharges the duty demand, the co-noticees can apply under this Scheme. This will also cover cases where the main notice has settled the....

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....he legacy taxes. The administrative machinery of the Government will also be able to fully focus on helping the tax payers in the smooth implementation of GST. Thus, the importance of making this Scheme a grand success cannot be overstated. The Principal Chief Commissioners/Principal Directors General/Chief Commissioners/Directors General and all officers and staff are instructed to familiarize themselves with the Scheme and actively ensure its smooth implementation. " 12. Thus, keeping in view the avowed object with which the scheme has been introduced and the intention of the Government to make it a grand success, it is necessary that the relief sought by the appellant deserves to be allowed and penalty imposed on them needs to be set as....

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....heme, the imposition of penalty would fail on simple ground that if the appellants had applied under the said scheme, they would have paid 'nil' duty, in view of the relief available to them under Section 124(1) (b) of the Finance Act. This Tribunal in similar circumstances has set aside the said penalty imposed in the case of Shri B.V. Kshatriya (supra). The relevant paragraph is given below:- "3.2 Thereafter, on introduction of the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme Rules, 2019, the main noticee, M/s. Bhikusa Papers Pvt. Ltd and other co-noticees settled the dispute under SVLDRS, but the present appellant, who is a director of the main noticee failed to opt under the Scheme. However, without considering the directions give....