Case Law Details
Delta Power Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner, Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax (CESTAT Delhi)
Mere failure to pay Excise Duty, not due to Fraud or wilful misstatement is not sufficient to attract extended Period of Limitation: CESTAT
CESTAT Delhi held that mere failure to pay Excise Duty, not due to fraud or wilful misstatement is not sufficient to attract the extended period of limitation and the Central Excise Officer should have issued notice within one year from the relevant date.
M/s. Delta Power Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. (“the Appellant”) filed the current appeal being aggrieved of the Order-in-Appeal passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), Dehradun. Factually, the Appellant is a manufacturer of Power Rectifier systems, UPS systems, industrial automation devices, video and audio display systems and electric motors, etc. The Appellant claims that for this purpose it has been procuring various inputs, capital goods, and input services and also availed CENVAT Credit on excise duty and service tax paid on the said items. The Appellant has also stated that during the period of dispute from April 2010 to March 2011, it was also engaged in the manufacture of Solar Power Systems, but these goods were exempted from levy of excise duty. During this period, the Appellant manufactured 48 Solar Power Systems worth Rs.4,98,23,250/- and cleared the same from the factory without payment of excise duty.
Further, a show cause notice dated March 19, 2015 was issued mentioning therein that the Appellant manufactured 48 Solar Power Systems during the financial year 2010-11 on which no excise duty was paid. In this regard, the Appellant contended that under Section 11A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (“the Excise Act”) the Central Excise Officer could have served a notice upon the Appellant within one year from the relevant date i.e. October 10, 2011 but in the instant case the show cause notice was issued on March 19, 2015 without there being any reason for invoking the extended period of limitation under Section 11A (4) of the Excise Act.
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