Depot clearances of cement do not defeat exemption where purchase-from-manufacturer conditions remain satisfied.

Cement cleared in 50 kg bags through the assessee's depot was treated as eligible for Sl. No. 1C of Notification No. 4/2006-C.E., because the depot arrangement did not break the condition that the commodity be purchased from the manufacturer under Rule 2(a) of the SWM Rules. The assessee's depot was not regarded as a separate entity for this purpose, and the position was supported by an earlier Tribunal decision on the same issue. The Revenue's objection that depot clearances defeated the notification condition therefore failed, and the exemption benefit remained available.

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Issues: Whether cement cleared in 50 kg bags through the assessee's depot qualified for the benefit of Sl. No. 1C of Notification No. 4/2006-C.E. dated 01-03-2006, and whether the depot arrangement defeated the condition that the commodity be purchased from the manufacturer under Rule 2(a) of the SWM Rules.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the construction of Rule 2(a) of the SWM Rules and the notification condition that the industrial consumer should have purchased the commodity from the manufacturer. The assessee's depot was not a separate entity from the manufacturer for this purpose. The same issue had already been decided in the assessee's favour in an earlier Tribunal decision, which supported the view that clearances through the depot did not take the case outside Sl. No. 1C of the notification.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the benefit of Sl. No. 1C of Notification No. 4/2006-C.E. and the Revenue's objection based on depot clearances failed.

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