SEZ Unit In India Is A Territory Deemed To Be Outside India, No Excise Duty Payable On Manufacturing Goods: CESTAT

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the SEZ Act exempts all duties in respect of the goods manufactured in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and Raju (Technical Member) has observed that since the SEZ unit has been excluded from the levy of the duty of excise, the same exclusion shall apply in respect of the levy of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) and Additional Duty of Excise (AED)....

Penalty Under Central Excise Rules Can Only Be Imposed On Natural Person And Not Against Artificial Entity: CESTAT

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the penalty under central excise rules can only be imposed on natural persons and not against artificial entities.The bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and Raju (Technical Member) has observed that the department has filed an appeal only against M/s Richardson and Cruddas Limited, and no name of the appellant or assessee appeared on the appeal memo. Obviously, when the appellant was not made a...

Manufacturing Of Aircrafts Parts Covered Under “Engineering Goods”, No Excise Duty Payable: CESTAT

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that excise duty exemption is available on the manufacturing of aircraft parts.The bench of Sulekha Beevi.C.S. (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical Member) have observed that the engineering equipment would fall within the items that have been listed for exemption as per Notification No.10/97. The Commissioner (Appeals) has considered the very same issue and allowed the exemption, observing that the goods...

Black Sand Not A By-Product, Just A Waste; CESTAT Quashes Excise Duty

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has clearly erred in fastening the appellant with duty liability on black sand, which was not manufactured. The bench of P. Dinesha (Judicial Member) and M. Ajit Kumar (Technical Member) relied on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Board of Trustees vs. Collector of Central Excise, in which it was held that in order to constitute goods, twin tests have to be satisfied, namely, the process constituting...