Aggregation of factory clearances governs excise exemption eligibility where a notification refers to a manufacturer's total preceding-year clearances.

An excise exemption notification measured eligibility by the clearances effected by the manufacturer during the preceding financial year, so the relevant figure was the manufacturer's total clearances and not the turnover of each factory separately. Because the same manufacturer owned multiple factories and the aggregate clearances from all units exceeded the prescribed limit, the concession was unavailable. A later notification was treated only as consistent support for that reading and did not alter the plain meaning of the earlier exemption. The rule stated is that, unless a notification expressly provides otherwise, clearances from all factories belonging to one manufacturer must be clubbed for deciding exemption eligibility.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of the exemption under the excise notification, the clearances from all factories belonging to the same manufacturer were required to be clubbed for determining the two-crore limit.

Analysis: The notification spoke of the clearances effected by the manufacturer during the preceding financial year. On a plain reading, the relevant consideration was the total output or clearances of the manufacturer, not the clearances of each factory separately. Since the appellant admittedly owned multiple factories and the aggregate clearances from all of them exceeded the prescribed limit, the concession could not be claimed. The subsequent notification relied upon only reinforced the same construction and did not displace the plain language of the earlier notification.

Conclusion: The clearances from all factories were required to be clubbed, and the appellant was not entitled to the exemption.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification grants relief by reference to the clearances of a manufacturer during the preceding financial year, the manufacturer's total clearances from all factories must be aggregated for deciding eligibility unless the notification expressly provides otherwise.

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