Separate Penalty on Proprietor Unsustainable When Proprietorship Concern Already Penalised for Same Offence: CESTAT

The CESTAT ruled that imposing a separate penalty on a proprietor is unsustainable when the proprietorship concern has already been penalized for the same offense. The tribunal emphasized that penalizing both the proprietorship and the proprietor for identical violations amounts to double jeopardy. This ruling upholds the principle that legal entities and their owners should not be subjected to multiple penalties for the same infraction, ensuring fairness in the enforcement of penalties.