SSI exemption aggregation excludes fully exempt rural unit clearances from clubbing with another unit's turnover.

Clearances from a rural Goa unit that were wholly exempt under Notification No. 9/2000 could not be included in the aggregate value of clearances for SSI exemption. Because the notification excluded fully exempt clearances from aggregation, the Goa unit's branded and unbranded supplies remained outside the computation for the Mumbai unit. The separate treatment of duty and Modvat/Cenvat for the two units did not change the aggregation rule. The assessee was therefore entitled to the notification benefit.

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Issues: Whether the clearances from the rural area Goa unit, which were exempt under Notification No. 9/2000 dated 01.03.2000, were liable to be clubbed with the Mumbai unit for computing the aggregate value of clearances for SSI exemption.

Analysis: The exemption notification excluded from the aggregate value those clearances which were wholly exempt from excise duty. The Goa unit was found to be situated in a rural area and its clearances, whether branded or unbranded, were covered by the exemption under Notification No. 9/2000. Since the exempt clearances of the Goa unit fell within the exclusion clause of the notification, their value could not be added to the Mumbai unit for determining eligibility under the slab exemption. The separate regulation of duty and Modvat/Cenvat benefit for the two units did not alter the position on aggregation for exemption purposes.

Conclusion: The clearances of the Goa unit were not to be clubbed with the Mumbai unit for the aggregate value computation, and the assessee was entitled to the benefit of the notification.

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