Exemption notification for goods made without power: gas used only for heating did not automatically mean manufacture with the aid of power.

An exemption notification for soap manufactured without the aid of power or steam was interpreted in relation to CNG used only for heating. The appellant argued that heating use did not amount to manufacture with the aid of power, and a prior Board circular supported that position. A cited High Court distinction under the Employees' State Insurance Act and the Factories Act was treated as inapplicable because the notification did not incorporate those statutory definitions. On that basis, the appellant was found to have a strong prima facie case, and waiver of pre-deposit of duty and penalty was granted.

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Issues: Whether the appellant had made out a prima facie case for waiver of pre-deposit under the exemption notification when CNG gas was used only for heating purposes, and whether such use amounted to manufacture with the aid of power.

Analysis: The notification exempted soap manufactured without the aid of power or steam. The appellant's case was that CNG gas was used only for heating and not as power for manufacture. The distinction drawn in the cited High Court decision under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and the Factories Act, 1948 was held not to govern the notification, because the notification itself did not incorporate those definitions. A prior Board circular regarding manufacture with the aid of gas was also relied upon to support the appellant's view that such use did not necessarily amount to use of power in manufacture.

Conclusion: The appellant was held to have a strong prima facie case, and waiver of pre-deposit of duty and penalty was granted.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification excludes goods manufactured with the aid of power, the use of gas only for heating purposes does not automatically establish use of power, particularly when the notification does not adopt external statutory definitions governing power.

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