Exemption for Captive Consumption of fabricated steel inputs affirmed where factual records and higher court reversal remove precedent bar.

HR plates and sheets used and captively consumed in fabrication for expansion of an integrated steel plant qualify for exemption under Notification No. 67/1995-C.E.; the Tribunal accepted ER-1 returns and accounting entries as sufficient factual matrix to establish captive use and treatment as inputs/capital goods. The Tribunal further relied on subsequent judicial developments that reversed a prior Larger Bench position, removing that precedent as a bar, and applied the controlling higher court rulings to allow the exemption on the combined factual and legal record.

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Issues: Whether HR plates/sheets cleared and captively consumed for fabrication of structures in relation to expansion of an integrated steel plant are eligible for exemption under Notification No. 67/1995-C.E., dated 16.03.1995.

Analysis: The Tribunal examined whether the facts on record, including ER-1 returns and accounting entries, demonstrate that the goods were used for expansion and captive consumption for the integrated plant; it considered earlier Tribunal decisions recognising angles, joists, beams, bars and plates used in fabrication as inputs or capital goods for the final product and whether the Larger Bench decision earlier relied upon by the Adjudicating Authority remains authoritative. The Tribunal took into account subsequent judicial developments in which the Larger Bench position was reversed by the High Court and that reversal was upheld by the Supreme Court, thereby removing the cited Larger Bench precedent as a bar. On the combined factual record and the controlling judicial rulings, the goods in question qualify for the exemption under the notification relied upon.

Conclusion: The goods cleared and captively consumed are eligible for exemption under Notification No. 67/1995-C.E., dated 16.03.1995; the appeal is allowed and reliefs, if any, are to follow in accordance with law (in favour of the assessee).

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