Factory definition governs excise exemption where two divisions operate in the same premises under separate registrations.

Notification No. 6/2000-C.E. was analysed in light of the statutory definition of "factory" under the Central Excise Act, 1944, which includes any premises or part thereof where excisable goods are manufactured. Where two divisions operated in the same premises and the speciality paper shed formed part of the original ground plan, they could not be treated as separate factories merely because they held separate registrations or were described as distinct divisions. The exemption was therefore to be considered for the factory as a whole, and clearances of paper and paperboard could not be separately aggregated for each division.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of Notification No. 6/2000-C.E. was separately available to paper and paperboard manufactured by two divisions of the same assessee functioning in the same /premises.

Analysis: Section 2(e) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 defines "factory" to include any premises, or any part thereof, where excisable goods are manufactured or a manufacturing process connected with their production is carried on. The two divisions were situated in the same premises and the shed used for the speciality paper unit formed part of the original ground plan. On that basis, the units could not be treated as separate factories merely because they had separate registrations or were described as different divisions. The notification was therefore to be applied with reference to the factory as a whole, and the clearances of paper and paperboard could not be separately aggregated for two units in the same factory.

Conclusion: The exemption under Notification No. 6/2000-C.E. was not separately admissible to the two divisions; the appeals failed.

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