S. N. Variava, J. - (1.) Civil Appeal Nos. 6260-6265 of 2000 are against a Judgment dated 7th March, 2000 passed by the High Court of Kerala. All the other Appeals are against a Judgment dated 14th November, 2000 passed by the High Court of Gujarat. In all these Appeals a common question arises. Therefore all these Appeals are being disposed of by this common Judgment.
(2.) Briefly stated the facts are as follows : The respondents in Civil Appeal Nos. 6260-6265 of 2000 and the appellants in all the other appeals are Directors/Officers of M/s. Appollo Tyres Limited. M/s. Appollo Tyres has a factory in Kerala and another in Gujarat. M/s. Appollo Tyres Ltd. were clearing certain tyres on the basis that the tyres were for use on trailers. It was found that these tyres were then being fitted to Light Commercial Vehicles. The Commissioners of Central Excise at Kerala and in Gujarat issued show cause notices to the company as to why excise duty and penalty be not levied. In the same Show Cause Notice the Directors/Officers were also called upon to show cause as to why penalty be not imposed on them. The Company and its Directors/Officers replied to the show cause notice. Thereafter the Commissioners of Central Excise in Kerala and Gujarat adjudicated the show cause notices and called upon the company to pay excise and also imposed penalty. The Commissioners of Central Excise also required each Director/Officer of the Company to pay a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- as personal penalty.
(3.) The Company as well as the officers filed appeals before the Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal. While the appeals were pending the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme was announced. The relevant provisions of this scheme read as follows : "87. In this scheme, unless the context otherwise requires.- ********** ********** (j) "indirect tax enactment" means the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) or the Central Excise, 1944 (1 of 1944) or the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) or the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986) or the relevant Act and includes the rules or regulations made under such enactment; ********** ********** (m) "tax arrear" means,- ********** ********** (ii) in relation to indirect tax enactment.- (a) the amount of duties (including drawback of duty, credit of duty or any amount representing duty), cesses, interest, fine or penalty determined as due or payable under that enactment as on the 31st day of March, 1998 but remaining unpaid as on the date of making a declaration under Section 88; or (b) the amount of duties (including drawback of duty, credit of duty or any amount representing duty), cesses, interest, fine or penalty which constitutes the subject-matter of a demand notice or a show cause notice issued on or before the 31st day of March, 1998 under that enactment but remaining unpaid on the date of making a declaration under S. 88, but does not include any demand relating to erroneous refund and where a show cause notice is issued to the declarant in respect of seizure of goods and demand of duties, the tax arrear shall not include the duties on such seized goods where such duties on the seized goods have not been quantified. Explanation.- Where a declarant has already paid either voluntarily or under protest, any amount of duties, cesses, interest, fine or penalty specified in this sub-clause, on or before the date of making a declaration by him under S. 88 which includes any deposit made by him pending any appeal or in pursuance of a Court order in relation to such duties, cesses, interest, fine or penalty, such payment shall not be deemed to be the amount unpaid for the purposes of determining tax arrear under this sub-clause; ********** ********** 88. Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, where any person makes, on or after the 1st day of September, 1998 but on or before the 31st day of December, 1998, a declaration to the designated authority in accordance with the provisions of S. 89 in respect of tax arrear, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any direct tax enactment or indirect tax enactment or any other provision of any law for the time being in force, the amount payable under this Scheme by the declarant shall be determined at the rates specified hereunder, namely ;- ********** ********** (f) where the tax arrear is payable under the indirect tax enactment- (i) in a case where the tax arrear comprises fine, penalty or interest but does not include duties (including drawback of duty, credit of duty or any amount representing duty) or cesses, at the rate of fifty per cent., of the amount of such fine, penalty or interest, due or interest, due or payable as on the date of making a declaration under S. 88, (ii) in any other case, at the rate of fifty per cent., of the amount of duties (including drawback of duty, credit of duty or any amount representing duty) or cess due or payable on the date of making a declaration under S. 88. ********** ********** 91. The designated authority shall, subject to the conditions provided in S. 90, grant immunity from instituting any proceeding for prosecution for any offence under any direct tax enactment or indirect tax enactment, or from the imposition of penalty under any of such enactments. In respect of matters covered in the declaration under S. 88." ;