Refund of accumulated Cenvat credit on export upheld, and challenge to Notification No. 67/95-CE rejected in the same dispute.

Refund of accumulated Cenvat credit on export of SS utensils was upheld where the same dispute had already been decided in favour of the exporter on identical facts for an earlier period. The Tribunal found no basis to interfere with the refund order for the subsequent period. It also held that the department could not raise alleged wrongful availment of Notification No. 67/95-CE in these proceedings, because no duty demand on SS patties or related inputs was being pursued on that ground.

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Issues: Whether the respondent was entitled to refund of accumulated Cenvat credit on export of SS utensils, and whether the department could dispute the applicability of Notification No. 67/95-CE in these proceedings.

Analysis: The dispute concerned export of SS utensils manufactured using captively consumed SS patties and pattas made from duty-paid flats. The same issue had already been decided in favour of the respondent in an earlier appeal involving the same parties and similar facts, and the present matter related only to a subsequent period. Relying on that earlier detailed decision, the Tribunal found no valid ground to interfere with the order granting refund. The Tribunal also held that the question of wrongly availing Notification No. 67/95-CE could not be raised in the present proceedings, since the department was not seeking demand of duty on SS patties or SS patties on that basis.

Conclusion: The respondent's refund claim was upheld and the department's appeal was rejected.

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