ORDER
C.N.B. Nair, Member (T)
1. The Central Excise Officers visited the appellant’s premises (three production units) on 8-1-2000 at 2.30 p.m. After stock verification, they seized goods valued at about Rs. 5 lakhs from these units. The ground for seizure was that those goods had not been entered in the statutory records of production (RG-I). The goods in question are mixer grinders. The explanation of the appellant, from the beginning, was to the effect that the goods treated as excess by the visiting officers were the manufacture of the day of visit, they were not fully manufactured inasmuch as the goods had not been packed and made ready for storage, sale. This explanation did not find favour with the lower authorities. The Commissioner has recorded as under :-
“As regards goods stated to be lying in unpacked condition, the plea of Appellant is not forceful as they were under obligation to enter their products even if they were not packed in order to be in a ready to dispatch condition. The excisable goods on being manufactured are liable to excise duty even if sold in loose condition and so must be entered in stock records.”
2. Based on the finding that the goods were liable for confiscation for not being entered in the statutory records, the goods were confiscated with option to redeem on payment of fine and penalty.
3. I have perused the records and heard both sides. The findings are clearly incorrect. Appellant could not have entered the production of goods in statutory records before the goods are fully manufactured and ready for storage and disposal. Obviously, the Rule requiring entry of production on daily basis is being construed in an impractical and oppressive manner. The requirement of the Rule is that production shall be accounted ‘daily’. That can only mean one entry for the day’s production at the end of the day, and not several entries for the same day. In the present case, visit was at 2.30 p.m. That day’s production was going on and no entry could be made before the day’s shift was over.
4. In the light of what is stated above, the impugned order is set aside and the appeal is allowed with consequential relief, if any, to the appellants.