Non-manufacture of limestone crushing and slurry mixing supported a strong prima facie case for waiver and stay.

Crushing limestone and mixing crushed limestone, coke breeze and clay to produce raw meal or slurry were treated as processes where earlier authoritative findings had already held non-manufacture. The Tribunal noted that the Department's civil appeal against the view that crushing limestone is not manufacture had been dismissed, and that a later order holding the mixing process also not to be manufacture had attained finality. The exemption claim under Notification No. 447/86-C.E. was also relied upon. Because the Revenue's cited authority left the manufacture question open, the Tribunal found a strong prima facie case on duty liability, manufacture and excisability and granted waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery.

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Issues: Whether crushing of lime stone and mixing crushed lime stone, coke breeze and clay to produce raw meal/slurry amounted to manufacture and excisability, and whether the appellants had made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the process of crushing lime stone had earlier been held not to amount to manufacture, and that the Department's civil appeal against that view had been dismissed. It also noted that a subsequent order by the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner had held that mixing the ingredients to make raw meal/slurry did not amount to manufacture, and that the order had attained finality. The exemption claim under Notification No. 447/86-C.E. dated 13-11-1986 was also relied upon. In the Revenue's cited decision, the question of manufacture was left open and therefore did not assist the Revenue.

Conclusion: The Tribunal held that the appellants had shown a strong prima facie case on the question of duty liability, manufacture, and excisability of crushed lime stone and raw meal/slurry.

Final Conclusion: Waiver of pre-deposit and stay of recovery were granted in favour of the appellants.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the assessee shows earlier authoritative and final findings supporting non-manufacture, and the Revenue's relied-upon authority does not conclusively decide the issue, a strong prima facie case exists for waiver of pre-deposit and stay.

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