While rejecting refund claim, penalty imposed u/s 11AC - since there is no demand, pre-deposit of penalty waived
IT is a miracle that assessees survive the idiosyncrasies of the adjudicating and lower appellate authorities and manage to tell their tale.
In the present case, the assessee paid duty on the element of freight charges TWICE.
Realizing their mistake, they filed a refund claim for the excess amount of excise duty paid of Rs.1,27,229/-.
The adjudicating authority rejected their refund claim and also imposed equivalent amount of penalty u/s 11AC of the CEA, 1944. Madness, one may say, but then this order was upheld by the lower appellate authority too!
So, the appellant is before the CESTAT with an application for waiver of pre-deposit of penalty.
The appellant explained the facts and also submitted that since there is no demand of duty as the case relates to a refund claim filed of the duty paid twice, there is no reason to impose any penalty.
The Bench found this submission tenable and accordingly granted a waiver from pre-deposit of the penalty imposed and stayed the recovery.