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By Vijay Kumar

FERA

Confessional statement corroborated by seized documents, admissible even if retracted : Bombay HC

The Apex Court in the case Hazari Singh V/s. Union of India and Surjeet Singh Chhabra V/s. Union of India & Others has held that the confessional statement made before the Customs Officer though retracted is an admission and binding on the person.

Central Excise

Excise - valuation - goods cleared from consignment agent - factory sale price not applicable - just because Comm(A) passed two contradictory orders on same day, tribunal need not uphold wrong order : CESTAT

THE appellant cleared some of their goods through their "Consignment agents". The sale had taken place not from the factory gate, but through the Consignment Agents. Revenue proceeded against the appellants on the ground that they had not discharged their duty liability on the value of the goods in accordance with Section 4(1)(b) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with Rule 7 of the Central Excise Valuation Rules, 2000 for the period from 27.07.2000 to 19.01.2005. The original authority confirmed the demand of Rs. 5,06,029/- towards Central Excise Duty. Interest under Section 11AB was demanded. Equal penalty under Section 11AC was imposed.

The main contention of the appellants is that only w.e.f. 14.05.2003, the premises of Consignment Agents were defined as 'place of removal.' Therefore, the question of demanding differential duty prior to 14.05.2003 does not arise.

Utilisation of amount deposited during pendency of investigation of a case is no way illegal : Tribunal

FIRST things first. This is an order passed in January 2006 and is transmitted only recently. Fortunately, there should not be any complaint from the appellant's side at least!

Income Tax

Drawback benefits - Sec 80HHC benefits allowed but not u/s 80IB; Sec 80IB benefits cannot be allowed on profit from sale of DEPB scrips as no direct nexus exists with activities of undertaking : ITAT

TO shore up forex kitty Govt offers a slew of benefits to exporters. These benefits are not confined to customs, excise and service tax. There are certain provisions in the Income Tax Act which allow deduction for profits generated out of exports. But, can Sec 80IB benefits be allowed on profit generated by transferring DEPB scrips on a premium? This was the question which came up before the Tribunal which has held that the profit from sale of DEPB scrips has no direct nexus with the activities of the undertaking, and Sec 80IB benefits cannot be allowed.

See our columns tomorrow for the judgements