Indu Overseas Pvt. Limited Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & ST (CESTAT Ahmedabad)
The CESTAT, Ahmedabad in M/s Indu Overseas Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise & ST, Rajkot [Excise Appeal No. 12085 of 2013-DB dated June 26, 2023] remanded the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority and held that denial of cross-examination of witnesses is violative of principles of natural justice.
Facts:
M/s Indu Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (“the Appellant”) is a 100% export-oriented unit (“EOU”) engaged in the manufacturing of brass parts and accessories and was subsequently undertaking export of manufactured brass parts and accessories, as well as selling them in the domestic tariff area as per the permission received from the authorities.
Based on an investigation by the officers of DRI a Show Cause Notice dated January 17, 2012 (“the SCN”) was issued to the Appellant alleging that the Appellant had inflated the weight of the consignments in export documents to wrongly fulfil the export obligation, the SCN was subsequently confirmed by the Commissioner of Central Excise-Rajkot (Adjudicating Authority) vide order No 57-COMMR-2013 dated March 30, 2013 (“the Impugned Order”).
Aggrieved by the Impugned Order the Appellant filed the present appeal before the CESTAT.
The Appellant contended that the Adjudicating Authority behaved in an arbitrary manner and had not accepted the demand of cross-examination of the witnesses and subsequently confirmed the customs demand as well imposed penalty in gross violation of principles of natural justice.
Issue:
Whether denial of cross-examination of witnesses was violative of principles of natural justice?
Held:
The CESTAT Ahmedabad in Excise Appeal No. 12085 of 2013-DB held as under:
