Cement exemption under capacity-based notification denied where the assessee's plant was recognised and described as 300 TPD.

Notification No. 23/89, as amended by Notification No. 123/89, applied only where the licensed cement plant capacity did not exceed 200 tons per day. The record showed that the assessee had sought approval for a 300 TPD plant, the Central Government had recognised installed capacity at 300 TPD subject to conditions, and the assessee itself had described the capacity as 300 TPD in correspondence and affidavit. On those facts, the claim that the capacity remained within the notification limit was rejected, and the exemption was held unavailable.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of Notification No. 23/89, as amended by Notification No. 123/89, was available to cement cleared by the assessee when the licensed capacity was claimed to exceed 200 tons per day.

Analysis: The notification granted relief only where the licensed capacity did not exceed 200 tons per day. The record showed that the assessee had itself applied for approval of a 300 TPD plant capacity and that the Central Government had approved recognition of the installed capacity at 300 TPD, subject to stipulated conditions. The assessee had also described its capacity as 300 TPD in its own correspondence and affidavit. On these facts, the claim that the licensed capacity remained within 200 TPD could not be accepted.

Conclusion: The benefit of Notification No. 23/89, as amended, was not available to the assessee; the appeal was rightly allowed in favour of Revenue.

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