Export clearances through merchant-exporters excluded from SSI aggregate value where goods were ultimately exported and proof requirements were met.

Corrugated boxes cleared to merchant-exporters for packing export goods were treated as export clearances, not clearances for home consumption, for SSI exemption purposes. The Tribunal applied earlier decisions and accepted that the Board's simplified proof of export procedure, including Form-H or equivalent sales tax documents, governed these transactions. It rejected the Revenue's argument that the absence of direct export from the assessee's factory changed the character of the clearances, noting that the goods were ultimately exported through the merchant-exporter route. The later Supreme Court decision was held not to displace the earlier Tribunal view on these facts, and the duty demand and penalties were set aside.

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Issues: Whether clearances of corrugated boxes made to merchant-exporters for use as packing material in exported goods were to be treated as clearances for home consumption for computing the aggregate value of clearances under the SSI exemption notification, and whether the resulting duty demand and penalties could be sustained.

Analysis: The Tribunal found that the facts were materially identical to earlier decisions where similar clearances to merchant-exporters had been treated as export clearances and excluded from the aggregate value for SSI purposes. It held that the Board's simplified procedure, including acceptance of Form-H or equivalent sales tax forms as proof of export, applied to the present case as well. The Tribunal rejected the Revenue's distinction based on the goods not being directly exported from the assessee's factory, holding that the goods were ultimately exported and that the merchant-exporter route did not change the character of the clearances. It further held that the reliance on the later Supreme Court decision did not displace the earlier Tribunal view on these facts.

Conclusion: The corrugated boxes cleared to merchant-exporters were held to be export clearances and not includible in the aggregate value of clearances for home consumption. The duty demands and penalties were set aside, and the appeals were allowed.

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