Cadbury gets notice for evading excise duty

A Cadbury India spokesperson said it will respond to the show-cause notice in consultation with its legal advisers.

We are in the process of reviewing the contents of the  show-cause notice from the excise department and will respond to it in consultation with our legal advisers. A show cause is a matter of form in any such enquiry, the spokesperson said in an email response to query from PTI.

Under Central government norms,the area-based exemption for new industrial units of firms in Himachal Pradesh provide full exemption from excise duties for specified goods for a period of 10 years. For availing this the unit should have been established before March 2010.

During investigation,it was found that the company claimed excise duty exemption for its new unit in Sandoli village in Baddi relating to a period even before it came into existence,the sources said.