TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2003 (2) TMI 66
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....d notifications are issued creating confusion and leaving Judges and Lawyers to search for their exact meaning. In such a state of affairs, in some cases, it is difficult to draw inference of fraud, wilful concealment or suppression of facts so as to attract penal consequences. 2.Short facts of the case are that appellant is engaged in manufacture of lead acid electric storage batteries and parts thereof falling under Tariff Heading 85.07 in its two factories, one at Hebbal and other at Mysore Road plant. Lead in the form of ingots is the main raw material required for manufacture of the batteries. During the course of manufacture of the parts, certain quantities of waste and scrap is sent to the job workers who manufacture ingots out of....
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....erials, from the whole of the duty of excise leviable thereon, namely :- (a) old scrap of lead; (b) scrap obtained from lead unwrought on which appropriate amount of duty of excise, or, as the case may be, the additional duty leviable under section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) has been paid; (c) lead waste and scrap, falling under heading No. 78.02 on which appropriate amount of duty of excise, or, as the case may be, the additional duty leviable under section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), has been paid; (d) lead ash, lead slag ....
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....proviso is also reproduced below :- "Provided further that the exemption contained in this notification shall apply only if :- No credit has been taken on the input from which such scrap has been generated under rule 57A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944; or (ii) an amount equivalent to the credit taken, if any, on the input from which such scrap, has been generated, has been debited back in the RG 23A account or the current account maintained by the assessee." 7.At the time of hearing of these appeals, learned Counsel for the appellant has only submitted that there was no wilful suppression on the part of the appellant and hence, extended period under proviso to sub-section (1) of Secti....
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....ry challan and that there was no reason for the appellant to suppress as it was entitled to have facility of MODVAT Scheme, it would be difficult to hold that there was any wilful suppression on the part of the appellant which would empower the authorities to invoke extended period of limitation under proviso to Section 11A (1) of the Act. This has been made clear repeatedly by this Court. In M/s. Padmini Products v. Collector of Central Excise, Bangalore [1989 (4) SCC 275] this Court has held that something positive other than mere inaction or failure on the part of the manufacturer or producer of conscious or deliberate withholding of information when the manufacturer knew otherwise, is required to be established before it is saddled with....