Excise Dept Asks Cegat For Early Listing Of Itc Case

The department of central excise & customs has requested the Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (Cegat) for an early listing of ITC's Rs 799 crore excise case.

According to departmental sources, customs commissioners handling the case have written separately to Cegat authorities a number of times for an early listing of the case in order to speedily dispose off the matter. The date of hearing, however, is yet to be fixed. The case was expected to come up for listing at Cegat in the first week of April.

However, according to sources, the date of hearing the case was not finalised.

ITC paid the last instalment of Rs 30 crore to the excise department in January which brought the total pre-deposit to Rs 350 crore as prescribed by a Cegat ruling last March.

This was to be a kind of pre-condition before hearing the case further.

Subsequent hearings are going to be crucial as they will decide whether personal penalties by six ex-directors to the tune of Rs 3.15 crore, and the excise demand of Rs 118 crore on seven contract manufacturers of ITC will have to be paid. The penalty on contract manufacturers adds up to Rs 7 crore.

Government authorities are in the process of finalising the issue of charging penal interest on alleged excise violations which has been referred to the Union law ministry.

The case dates back to the time when the central excise department had issued a showcause notice alleging excise duty evasion for the period between March 1983 and February 1987. .A decision by the law ministry is awaited.

The original requirement by the excise commissioner's order of December 29, 1995 asking for a differential duty demand of Rs 681.54 crore has been waived to the extent of Rs 331.54 crore. Bonds worth the same amount have been furnished by ITC following the Cegat ruling of March 15, 1996.

.A penalty amount of Rs 66.50 crore has also been waived.

The ruling of the tribunal last March had ordered ITC to pay a lumpsum of Rs 110 crore by April 30, 1996, and the balance in six to eight monthly instalments.