- (1.) HEARD Sri Devi Pal learned Senior Adv. assisted by Sri Pushkar Mehrotra learned Counsel for the petitioners and Sri G. R. Gupta learned Counsel for the respondents.
(2.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Public Liability Company, the petitioner No. 2 is a shareholder and a Director. THEy are challenging the order dated 4-1-99 and 28-1-99 which are collectively annexed as Annexure-G to the petition issued by the respondent No. 1 under Section 90 (1) of the Finance Act, 1998 in respect of Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, 1998 and the orders dated 6-4-99 and 19-4-99 of respon dent No. 2 contained in the letter of respondent No. 3 dated 9-4-99. The facts of the case are that on 4-1-96 the Central Excise Officers visited the Company's factory purporting to carry out stock verification and allowing dis crepancy in the seized/detained goods. Pursuant to the Company's request for provisional release of the seized finished goods the Central Excise Authorities re quired it to furnish a bond and security, which was duly furnished by the Company and accepted by the Excise Authorities Accordingly the said finished goods were provisionally released to the Company after the payment of appropriate Central Excise duty. In this connection copies of the bond and bank guarantee and letter dated 2-2-96 of the Central Excise Authorities ac cepting the same have been annexed collec tively as Annexure-A to the petition. On 3-4-96 the Commissioner of Central Excise issued a show cause notice to the petitioner and the notice proposed inter alia to confiscate the seized goods and demand duties and also proposed penalties. Copy of the same has been an nexed as Annexure-B. The matter was ad judicated by the authority concerned on 17-11-96 but that order was set aside by the Tribunal on 20-3- 98 on the ground of violation of natural justice and the matter remanded to the Commissioner for fresh adjudication. The Commissioner again adjudicated the matter by means of order dated 28-10-98 by that order the Commis sioner confiscated certain goods and con firmed the demand duty and imposed penalty. Being aggrieved the petitioner filed an appeal alongwith the application before the Tribunal, which were pending but learned Counsel for the petitioner states that in view of the payments it made under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme the said appeals will be treated as having been withdrawn.
(3.) THE Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme contains provisions for quick and easy set tlement of the Tax dues. For availing the benefit of the Scheme it is necessary that the duty, interest, fine or penalty should be outstanding and the dispute in respect of the same should be pending on the specified date. The petitioner decided to avail of the Scheme and on 22-12-98 filed a declaration under the Scheme before the respondent No. 1. True copy of the declara tion and certain letters are annexed as Annexure-D to the petition. The petitioner also filed a separate declaration in respect of penalty as demanded by the authority. In paragraph 3 (1) of the petition it is stated that petitioner received three cer tificates of intimation under Section 90 (1) of the Finance Act. The certificates in respect of the Company's said Officers were both dated 4-1-99 and require them to pay 50% of the penalty imposed on each of them. The certificate in respect of the Company required it to pay a sum of Rs. 8,34,481/- on account of duty and Rs. 25,000/- as redemption fine. True copies of the three Certificates are annexed as Annexure-G to the petition. Thereafter the petitioners made the payment as directed in the said certificates vide Annexure-H to the petition. Thereafter certain correspondence took place between the petitioner and the authorities, copies of which are Annexure-I to P annexed to the petition. The petitioner prayed that the authority should not invoke the Bank Guarantee given by it.;