In a recent judgment, the Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Victory Impex v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Ludhiana 2013 (287) E.L.T. 38 (P & H) has held that law fastens liability on the defaulter and it is the defaulter who can be penalized for its own act unless otherwise expressly provided under any statutory authority. Accordingly, while deciding on an issue involving a no. of petitioners, where one petitioner for e.g. being a manufacturer and others being supplier of raw material to manufacturer, the Appellate Authority is not justified in holding that the appeal of any of the assessee (s) would be dismissed automatically on the ground of non-compliance by a particular assessee, without providing a reasonable opportunity of being heard on merits.

The copy of the Case is annexed herewith for your kind perusal.