2004 (11) TMI 188

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....ed by the Revenue for imposition of penalty on M/s. S.P. Tobacco Pvt. Ltd. and its Managing Director, Shri Naveen Jhanjee, on account of clearing the gutkha without payment of Central Excise duty from their factory. 2. When the matters were called no one was present on behalf of the respondents. However one Shri Praveen Agrawal learned Advocate, has submitted Cross Objection on their behalf. I,....

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.... The learned D.R. submitted that the penalty is imposable on the appellant-company as they had cleared the goods without payment of duty; that no mens rea is required for imposing the penalty when the goods have been cleared without payment of duty; that the mere fact of depositing the duty before the issue of show cause notice, does not absolve them from the charge of clearing the goods without p....

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....of penalty if a manufacturer removes any excisable goods in contravention of any of the provisions of Central Excise Rules or Notification issued thereunder. As the excisable goods have been removed without payment of duty, penalty is imposable under Rule 25(1)(a) of the Rules as the goods have been removed in contravention of provisions of the Rules. It is not the case of the respondents that the....

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....thing to do with the timing of show cause notice. Certainly, after detecting any contravention of the provisions of Central Excise Act/Rules, the Department will take some time in issuing the show cause notice after conducting investigations. The mere fact that during this period, the assessee paid the entire amount of duty will not make him free of the charge of removing the goods without payment....