Immovable conveyor system treated as non-excisable goods, with site-assembled machinery outside central excise duty.

A conveyor belt system fabricated, assembled, tested and commissioned at site was treated as immovable property rather than excisable goods because it acquired its identity only after site operations were completed and the remaining work was mere assembly of parts into an incomplete system. As the complete conveyor system could not be transported as such and would have to be dismantled into components, it was not a movable commodity chargeable to central excise duty. The Revenue's appeal therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether the conveyor belt system fabricated, assembled, tested and commissioned at site had acquired the character of excisable goods or had become immovable property and, therefore, escaped central excise duty.

Analysis: The same issue had already been decided in the assessee's favour in an earlier Tribunal decision on identical facts. The system was found to attain its identity only after the operations necessary to make it workable were completed, and the remaining activity involved only assembling parts into an incomplete system. Such a system could not be transported as a complete conveyor system and would have to be dismantled into parts, indicating that it was not a movable excisable commodity but immovable property.

Conclusion: The conveyor system was not liable to central excise duty as excisable goods, and the appeal by the Revenue failed.

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