2006 (10) TMI 163

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....h their letters dated 24th August 2006, 4th September 2006 and the detention Memo dated 27th September 2006. 4. The brief facts leading to the filing of this Petition are as follows :- The petitioner is a Company having its factory at Tarapur in District Thane. The petitioner has been paying the excise duty while clearing the goods from time to time as per Rule 173G of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. It, however, so happened that there were a few defaults in the period of July to September 2000. The petitioner was required to make defaults good by paying interest at the rate of 24% under sub-clause (1)(d) thereof. According to the petitioner, it has paid the same. Thereafter the Deputy Commissioner, Central Excise, who is respon....

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....ermissible under the Deputy Commissioner's letter dated 14th November 2000. Nearly two years passed thereafter and now again on 31st August 2006 the demand is raised that this interest amount should be paid and now a detention Memo is issued on 21st September 2006 not to clear the goods of the petitioner for non-payment of the interest amount. 6. The case of the petitioner is that it followed the method permitted by  the Deputy Commissioner and it should not be made to suffer. In any case, the petitioner should be afforded a hearing and for that purpose, reliance is placed on  the judgment of the Apex Court in Union of India & ors. v. Madhumilan Syntex Pvt.Ltd. reported in 1988 (35) E..L.T. 349 (S.C.) to the effect that the....

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....ation of an order passed by the proper officer in this regard and during this period the manufacturer shall be required to pay excise duty for each consignment by  debit to the account current referred to in clause (b) and in the event of any such failure it will be deemed as if such goods have been cleared without payment of duty and the consequences and penalties as provided in the Central Excise Rules shall follow." 9. We have noted the submissions with respect to the merits of the demand and the defence of the petitioner. The fact however remains, that principles of natural justice require that the petitioner ought to be issued a Show Cause Notice as to why the interest amount should not be claimed from it and after affording a ....