SSI exemption requires annual aggregate clearances of all specified goods to be computed together, not segment by segment.

For SSI exemption and related general exemption notifications, the aggregate value of clearances for the full financial year must be computed by taking all specified goods together, rather than by treating segments of the same year separately. The authorities' segment-wise approach was inconsistent with the notification scheme. On correct computation, any duty demand, if warranted, had to be worked out on all specified goods. The original authority was therefore required to decide all show-cause notices together after proper aggregation and after granting the assessee an opportunity of hearing; the impugned orders were set aside or modified on remand.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of SSI exemption and the related general exemption notifications, the aggregate value of clearances had to be computed for the entire financial year by taking all specified goods together, and whether the matters required a composite adjudication instead of segment-wise determinations.

Analysis: The disputes related to the same financial year and to goods that were all specified goods for SSI exemption. The correct approach was to consider the aggregate value of clearances of all such goods for the full period covered by the notifications, and then determine whether the exemption limit was crossed. The authorities below had treated different segments of the same financial year separately, which did not accord with the scheme of the SSI notification. Once the aggregate value was correctly computed, any duty demand, if warranted, had to be worked out on all the specified goods. The original authority was therefore required to decide all show-cause notices together after proper computation and after giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard.

Conclusion: The appeals were allowed by way of remand and the impugned orders were set aside or modified accordingly.

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