Exemption notification for oil paints and enamels applied on consolidated output of all factories of the same manufacturer.

An exemption notification for oil paints and enamels was construed as operating by reference to the output of the manufacturer as a whole, not separately for each factory. The notification's opening language focused on goods cleared by a manufacturer for home consumption, and the proviso's reference to a factory was limited to cases where the same factory was operated at different times by different manufacturers. Separate licensing requirements for separate places of business did not alter the notification's meaning. The later express reference to "one or more factories" was treated as clarificatory, confirming that the exemption and output limit were to be computed on consolidated production across all factories of the same manufacturer.

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Issues: Whether, under the exemption notification for oil paints and enamels, the output limit and concessional exemption were to be computed separately for each factory of the same manufacturer or on the consolidated output of all factories belonging to that manufacturer.

Analysis: The notification granted exemption to goods cleared by a manufacturer for home consumption, and the relevant condition in the table turned on whether the output of oil paints and enamels for the financial year exceeded the prescribed limit. The notification did not refer to each factory in its opening part, while the reference to a factory in the proviso was confined to the special situation where the same factory was run at different times by different manufacturers. The licensing rules requiring separate licences for separate places of business did not control the meaning of the exemption notification. The decisive expression was "manufacturer", and the notification had to be read as referring to the total output of that manufacturer, irrespective of the number of factories. The later notifications expressly referring to "one or more factories" were treated as clarificatory. The construction adopted was also consistent with prior authority holding that the exemption was not factory-wise but consolidated for the common manufacturer.

Conclusion: The exemption was available only on the consolidated output of all factories of the same manufacturer, and not separately for each factory.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification grants relief by reference to goods cleared by "a manufacturer", the exemption is to be applied on the consolidated production of that manufacturer and not separately on a factory-wise basis, unless the notification itself expressly provides otherwise.

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