- (1.) WE have heard learned counsel appearing for the writ -petitioner, and learned counsel appearing for the Central Excise Department.
(2.) A show cause notice was given to M/s. S.N. Industries, B -36, Sudarshanpura, Jaipur, by the Central Excise Collectorate, Jaipur on 17.10.1990, for contravening the provisions of Rules 173 -B, 173 -G, 173 -F and 226 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, for removing the excisable goods without payment of appropriate duty, and without accounting for in the statutory records by way of manipulation and fragmentation of units, so as to avail the benefit of Notification dated 01.03.1986, fraudulently, in evading Central Excise Duty to the tune of Rs. 74,249.28, which included the Basic Excise Duty and the Special Excise Duty.
(3.) IN an inspection carried out on 25.04.1990, it was found that the unit M/s. S.N. Wires, which was situate in the same premises, in which the petitioner's unit M/s. S.N. Industries was situate, was locked. It was unlocked by one of the partners, Shri Sanjay Trehan, who was the common partner in M/s. S.N. Industries - the petitioner, and S.N. Wires. One of the machines, was not found connected with the power. It was found that M/s. S.N. Industries and M/s. S.N. Wires, had shown the consumption of different units of electricity for almost the same quantity of manufacture in electric wires and copper wires. Whereas M/s. S.N. Industries - the petitioner, had produced 12596.8 kgs. of copper wires by consuming 8299 units of power, M/s. S.N. Wires claimed to have manufactured 9609.1 kgs. of copper wires in the months of February and March, 1999, by consuming only 101 units of power. A number of factors of functional integrality of both the units was observed in the inspections including common facility of pickling and annealing (the process involved in manufacture of copper wire). The goods manufactured in M/s. S.N. Industries were being shown as having been produced and cleared by M/s. S.N. Wires. The Adjudicating Authority did not find the reply to the Show Cause Notice, to be satisfactory, and confirmed the demand. In an appeal under the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, the Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, dismissed the appeal against the findings, after a direction was issued by the High Court to decide the appeal.;