MAWTHLLIANG WOOD PRODUCTS PVT LTD Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, SHILLONG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this writ petition, the petitioner-company, said to be engaged in manufacture of Veneer falling under Chapter 44 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, has questioned the order dated 28.01.2016 as passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Shillong ['the Commissioner'] on its application for 'Fixation of Special Rate of the Actual Value Addition' in terms of Notification No.20/2007-CE dated 25.04.2007 (as amended).

(2.) By the order impugned, the Commissioner has rejected the application so made by the petitioner only on the ground that the same was barred by time-limit, while observing as under:-

(3.) It has been contended on behalf of the petitioner that in fact, the requisite application for Special Rate was submitted on 30.09.2015 in the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, Shillong but then, it was noticed that the application ought to have been filed in the Commissioner's office. According to the petitioner, when the steps were taken for filing of the application in the Commissioner's office on 30.09.2015, the Receipt Section had already closed and therefore, the application could be filed only on 01.10.2015. Further, according to the petitioner, the submission of Audited Balance Sheet, Value Addition Certificate, Sale and Purchase Registers took a little extra time for the same being with their Charted Accountant/Auditor; and the delay on the part of the Charted Accountant was due to extension of due date of Income Tax return upto 31.10.2015.