Law: Central Excise Act, (I of 1944)

Section: 3,9,18

Central Excise Act (I of 1944)--Ss. 3, 9 & 18---Central Excise Rules, 1944, Rr. 197, 201 & 210---Evasion of Central Excise duty---Raiding the factory premises without obtaining search warrant---Authorities on receiving information that registered person was involved in the evasion of central excise duty and other taxes, constituted a raiding party, which raided the factory premises of registered person and party searched and seized record without obtaining search warrant under S.18 of Central Excise Act, 1944---Registered person was charged with violation of Ss.3 & 9 of Central Excise Act, 1944 read with R.210 of Central Excise Rules, 1944 and was issued show-cause notice---No search warrant as required under S.18 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, was obtained by the raiding authorities---Section 165, Cr.P.C., dispensed with said condition subject to preparation of statements of grounds of belief, which was also missing in the case---Section 163 of Customs Act, 1969 and S.40-A of the Sales Act, 1990 contained similar mandatory requirements for carrying out the search without search warrant---All said provisions of law were mandatory and the requirements contained therein, were not fulfilled and complied with in the case---If the raid was declared illegal, the documents and things recovered in such action would not be used against registered person---As no search warrant was obtained as required under S.18 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, purported visit or access by the raiding party, was illegal, without lawful authority; and issuance of show-cause notice and subsequent proceedings, including impugned orders were also void ab initio and illegal, in circumstances. Collector of Sales Tax and others v. Messrs Food Consultant (Pvt.) Ltd., and Messrs Diplex Beauty Clinic and others 2007 PTD 2356; Collector of Customs Lahore and another v. Universal Gateway Trading Corporation and another 2005 SCMR 37; Collector of Sales Tax and Central Excise (Enforcement) and another v. Messrs Mega Tech (Pvt.) Ltd., 2005 PTD (SC) 1933; Chairman CBR and others v. Haq Cotton Mills (Pvt.) Ltd., 2007 PTD (SC) 1351; Messrs Ahsan Yousaf Textile Mills (Pvt.) Ltd. Faisalabad v.…

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