SUCHITRA COMPONENTS LTD.versusCOMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, GUNTUR
- Citation
- 2007 INSC 55
- Decided
- 17 January 2007
- Disposal
- Appeal(s) allowed
Holding
The duty is payable from the date of issuance of the show‑cause notice, not from the earlier date ordered by the Tribunal.
Summary
Suchitra Components Ltd. appealed against a Tribunal order that required it to pay excise duty from 1 March 1990. The appellant argued that, under the Central Excise Act, the liability should arise only from the date the show‑cause notice was issued on 29 August 1990. The Supreme Court referred to its recent decision in Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore v. Mysore Electricals Industries Ltd., which distinguished between beneficial circulars (applied retrospectively) and oppressive circulars (applied prospectively). Applying that principle, the Court held that the circular affecting the assessee was oppressive and therefore could not be applied retrospectively. Consequently, the Court ruled that the duty is payable from the date of the show‑cause notice, not from the earlier date ordered by the Tribunal. The appeal was allowed and the Tribunal’s order was set aside.
Issues considered
- The correct date from which excise duty becomes payable under the Central Excise Act.
- Whether a circular affecting the assessee should be applied retrospectively or prospectively.
Legislation cited
Subjects
Judgment
y
-, SUCHITRA COMPONENTS LTD. A
v.
COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, GUNTUR
JANUARY 17, 2007
[DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN AND V.S. SIRUPURKAR, JJ.] B
Central Excise Act, 1944:
Excise duty -Date from which liable to be paid-Held, in view of the
judgment in Mysore Electricals Industries case*, assessee is liable to pay c
the duty from the date of issue of the show cause notice and not from an
earlier date as ordered by the Tribunal.
Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore v. Mysore Electricals
Industries Ltd., (2007) 204 ELT 517, relied on.
D
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3596 of2005.
From the Final Order No. 204/05-NB-A dated 14.1.2005 of the Customs,
Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Block, New Delhi in Appeal
No. E/3422/93-NB-(A). E
A.R. Madhav Rao and M.P. Devanath for the Appellant.
K. Radhakrishna, Sr. Adv., Ms. B. Sunita Rao and B. Krishna Prasad
for the Respondent.
F
The Order of the Court was delivered :
ORDER
This appeal is directed against the Final Order no.204/05-NB-A dated G
14th January, 2005 passed by the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate
Tribunal, New Delhi in Appeal No.E/3422/93-NB-A.
--.,_
We have heard Mr. A.R. Madhav Rao, learned counsel for the
appellant and Mr. K. Radhakrishnan, learned Senior Counsel for the H
1095
1096 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] I S.C.R.
A respondent. We have perused the orders passed by the lower Authorities
and also of the Tribunal. The point raised by the learned counsel for the
appellant is covered by the recent judgment of this Court in Civil Appeal
No.4488 of 2005, Commissioner of Central Excise, Bangalore v. Mis.
Mysore Electricals Industries Ltd., reported in (2007) 204 ELT 517. In the
said Judgment, this Court held that a beneficial circular has to be applied
B retrospectively while oppresive circular has to be applied prospectively.
Thus, when the circular is against the assessee, they have right to claim
enforcement of the same prospectively.
In view of the submission made by the learned counsel for the
C appellant and also of the judgment of this Court in C.A. No.4484/05 (supra),
the appellant is liable to pay the duty from 29.8.1990 i.e. from the date of
issue of the show cause notice and not from 1.3 .1990 as ordered by the
Tribunal.
D The Civil Appeal stands allowed on the above terms. No costs.
R.P. Appeal allowed.
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