Combined project capacity governs mega power project exemption, so separate 600 MW units did not defeat the benefit.

Exemption under Notification No. 6/2006-CE was available for a power project where two generating units of 600 MW each formed a single thermal power project certified by the Ministry of Power as 1200 MW. The Tribunal held that, for mega power project status, the relevant test is the combined capacity of the project as a whole, not whether each constituent unit separately crosses the 1000 MW threshold. Because the goods were supplied against the prescribed certificate and the project met the aggregate capacity requirement, denial of the exemption merely because no individual unit independently reached 1000 MW was unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether exemption under Notification No. 6/2006-CE dated 01.03.2006 was available where the power project consisted of two generating units of 600 MW each and the combined capacity exceeded 1000 MW.

Analysis: The goods were supplied against the prescribed certificate and the only dispute was whether the project had to be treated as a single unit of 1000 MW or more. The project certificate issued by the Ministry of Power certified the Salaya Power Project as a thermal power plant of 1200 MW. The Tribunal also relied on the view that, for mega power project status, the relevant test is the combined capacity of the project and not whether a single unit alone crosses 1000 MW. Following the earlier decision on identical facts, the exemption could not be denied merely because the project comprised two units of 600 MW each.

Conclusion: The exemption under Notification No. 6/2006-CE dated 01.03.2006 was available to the appellant, and denial of the benefit was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: For a mega power project exemption, the combined capacity of constituent units is ative, and the benefit cannot be refused solely because no individual unit independently reaches the prescribed capacity threshold.

---