HI-DESIGN Vs. COMMISSIONER OF C. EX., PONDICHERRY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. S. Muthu Venkataraman, learned counsel appearing for Mr. R. Karthikeyan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. V. Sundareswaran, learned Senior Panel counsel appearing for the respondents.

(2.) In these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the order passed by the Customs and Central Excise Settlement Commission, Additional Bench, Chennai (hereinafter referred to as the "Settlement Commission") in applications filed by the petitioner for settlement of their case arising out of a show cause notice, dated 6-3-2007, issued by the first respondent to the petitioner, who is one among the sixteen co-noticees.

(3.) The petitioner is a manufacturer of leather goods falling under Chapter 42 of the Central Excise Tariff. On receiving information that the petitioner is manufacturing goods and removing without payment of duty and availing SSI exemption and manipulating the records of the sister concern and job workers, conducted investigation and issued show cause notice demanding duty of Rs. 5,16,08,561/-, on the ground that the petitioner has actually engaged in the manufacture of leather goods for export and home clearances for themselves and also for their sister trade units; they were clearing their goods manufactured by them to the Domestic Tariff Area without payment of Central Excise duty either directly or to the warehouse from where the same were subsequently sold in domestic market in the name of different trading entities; they camouflaged the entire transaction, as if the trading units, got the entire leather goods manufactured through independent job workers during the period from April, 2001 to March, 2006. On receipt of the show cause notice, the petitioner filed application before the Settlement Commission admitting additional duty of Rs. 1,42,95,172/- as against the demand of Rs. 5,16,08,561/- along with prayer for immunities.