TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (3) TMI 13
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....dule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, without having Central Excise Registration and clearing the same without payment of central exercise duty on the said manufactured goods. Therefore, acting upon such information that, without obtaining Central Excise Registration Certificate and without payment of central exercise duty, the appellants were engaged in evasion of central excise duty by way of manufacture and clandestine clearance of their finished goods i.e., Ayurvedic proprietary medicines, cosmetics and toiletry preparations, falling under Chapters 30 and 33 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985., 3. Simultaneous searches were conducted by the officers of the DGCEI, Kolkata Zonal Unit, at factory premises and other related premises of the appellants on 10.04.2012, which resulted in seizure of finished goods lying in the factory premises on that day, along with private records/documents. Statement of Shri Uday Narayan Pandey, Production Chemist of the appellant-company was recorded on 10.04.2012, who inter alia stated that appellant company was manufacturing Ayurvedic proprietary medicines as approved by the Drugs Controller. 4. Statement of S....
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.... of duty, along with interest; penalties have been imposed on both the appellants. The ld. adjudicating authority also held that goods seized goods are liable for confiscation, allowing the same to be released on payment of redemption fine of Rs.16 lakhs. 7. For the subsequent period, another Show Cause Notice dated 06.05.2014 was issued to demand central excise duty amounting to Rs.76,41,574/- (inclusive of cess), along with interest, and to impose a penalty on the appellant company. The said Show Cause Notice was also adjudicated by way of the impugned Order-in-Original dated 08.09.2015, confirming the demand proposed in the Show Cause Notice, along with interest, and imposing penalty on the appellant company. 8. Against the said orders, the appellants are before us. 9. The Ld. Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants submitted that the whole investigation is based on an incorrect appreciation of the statutory provisions and materials on record. It is his submission that classification of similar goods has been preferred or followed and the appellant company was eligible for exemption for the period up to February 2011; that they were undertaking manufacturing of Ay....
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....s enhanced to @2% ad valorem w.e.f. 17.03.2012 vide Notification No. 16/2012-C.E. dated 17.03.2012; that the appellant-company took registration thereon and started paying duty w.e.f. 01.03.2011. 11. In view of the above submissions, the Ld. Counsel for the appellants contends that the impugned proceedings against the appellants are not sustainable and therefore, prayed that the impugned orders, confirming the demands of duty, interest, penalties and confiscation of the seized goods, be set aside. 12. On the other hand, Learned Authorized Representative of the Revenue supported the impugned orders. 13. Heard the parties and considered their submissions. 14. For better appreciation of the facts of the case, the following documents are required to be considered, which are as follows: - (1) Certificate of Renewal of Licence to Manufacture for Sale of Ayurvedic Drugs: (2) Certificate of Goods Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to Manufacture Ayurveda, Siddha or Unani Drugs: (3) The opinion on classification of Ayurvedic products manufactured by the appellant viz., M/s. Glamour World Ayurvedic Co. Pvt. Ltd. - as sought: (4) Certificate issued b....
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.... body. The medicament would necessarily be covered by fillers/vehicles in order to make the product usable. It could not be denied that all the ingredients used in Banphool Oil are those which are set out in the Ayurveda text books. Of course the formula may not be as per the text books but a medicament can also be under a patented or proprietary formula. The main criteria for determining classification is normally the use it is put to by the customers who use it The burden of proving that Banphool Oil is understood by the customers as an hair oil was on the revenue. This burden is not discharged as no such proof is adduced. On the contrary we find that the oil can be used for treatment of headache, eye problem, night blindness, reeling, head weak memory, hysteria, amnesia, blood pressure, insomnia etc. The dosages required are also set out on the label. The product is registered with Drug Controller and is being manufactured under a drug licence." 19. Another aspect to be kept in mind is that the revenue is bound by the circulars issued by the Board. The Board 20. We further take note of the fact that the onus is on the Revenue to prove that the goods manufactured by the app....