Central Excise Act s.11AC

Central Excise Act s.11AC — the law in short

What the courts have decided on section Central Excise Act s.11AC, in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.

• Union of India v Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills Supreme CourtCuts both ways
  After Dharmendra Textile, does penalty follow automatically from every default?
  No. Whether the penalty provision applies at all depends on the conditions expressly stated in it. Once it does apply, the authority loses discretion over the amount — but not before.
• Union of India v Dharmendra Textile Processors Supreme CourtHelps department
  Does the department have to prove you meant to conceal?
  No. Penalty under s.271(1)(c) is a civil liability enacted to remedy loss of revenue, and wilful concealment is not an essential ingredient. Prosecution under s.276C, which does need a mental element, stands on a different footing.

Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.