Printing machine treated as equipment under exemption notification; restrictive interpretation rejected and exemption allowed.

A printing machine supplied to an educational institution was treated as "equipment" for purposes of Notification No. 10/97-C.E. dated 1-3-97. The Tribunal rejected a narrow construction of the entry, noting that a lathe machine had previously been regarded as technical equipment within the same notification. On that basis, the exemption was held available to the assessee, and denial of the benefit was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the printing machine supplied to the educational institution was covered as "equipment" under Notification No. 10/97-C.E. dated 1-3-97 and entitled the assessee to exemption.

Analysis: The lower appellate authority had construed the term "equipment" narrowly. The Tribunal noted that a lathe machine had earlier been held to be a technical equipment falling within the description in the same notification, and that the exemption could not be denied on a restrictive reading of the entry. On that basis, the printing machine was treated as covered by the notification.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the benefit of exemption under Notification No. 10/97-C.E., and the denial of exemption was set aside.

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