Abatement of duty under Rule 96ZQ(7)(g) applies when factory closure lasts one month or more, not only a full calendar month.

Under Rule 96ZQ(7)(g) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, abatement of duty is available where factory closure lasts for one month or more, and the period is not confined to a full calendar month. The Tribunal held that a closure exceeding one month in the aggregate satisfied the statutory condition, even if the closure included a fractional month. Following its earlier ruling on the same point, it rejected the narrower view that only a calendar month qualified. The assessee's abatement claim was therefore admissible and the appeal succeeded.

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Issues: Whether abatement of duty was available under Rule 96ZQ(7)(g) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 for the period during which the factory remained closed for less than a calendar month but for more than one month in the aggregate claim period.

Analysis: Rule 96ZQ(7)(g) provides that where the claim for abatement by an independent processor is for a period of one month or more, duty for that period is not required to be paid in advance. The factory closure in the present matter was for a period exceeding one month, and the relevant condition is the duration of closure for one month or more, not whether the period must be treated as a calendar month. The Tribunal followed its earlier decision on the same issue and rejected the view that a fractional month would be excluded merely because it did not constitute a full calendar month.

Conclusion: The claim for abatement was admissible and the appeal succeeded in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Rule 96ZQ(7)(g), abatement is available once the factory closure period is one month or more, and the period is not to be restricted to a calendar month.

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