Itc Case Cegat Listing In April

ITC's Rs 799 crore alleged excise evasion case is expected to come up for listing at the Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (Cegat) in the first week of April.

The date for the next hearing of the case will be fixed on the same day.

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 in 1996 March. This was a pre-condition before the further hearing of the case, said a source.

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

Authorities are in the process of finalising the issue of charging penal interest on alleged excise violations which has been referred to the law ministry. The excise department had issued a showcause notice alleging duty evasion for the period between March 1983 and February 1987.