State-owned company not treated as State Government factory for excise exemption under Notification No. 74/93.

Excise duty exemption under Notification No. 74/93 was confined to goods manufactured by a factory belonging to a State Government and intended for use by a department of that Government. A State-owned company registered under the Companies Act remained a separate legal person, so its factory could not be treated as a factory belonging to the State Government merely because of government ownership. The statutory condition for exemption was therefore not met, and the benefit was correctly denied.

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Issues: Whether the appellant, a company owned by the State, was entitled to exemption from excise duty under Notification No. 74/93 dated 28-2-1993 on the footing that the goods were manufactured by a factory belonging to a State Government.

Analysis: The notification extended exemption only to goods manufactured by a factory belonging to a State Government and intended for use by any department of that Government. The appellant was a company registered under the Companies Act and, as a legal person, was separate and independent from the State Government. A factory owned by such a company could not be treated as a factory belonging to the State Government merely because the company was State-owned. The statutory condition for exemption was therefore not satisfied.

Conclusion: The appellant was not entitled to the exemption under Notification No. 74/93, and the denial of the benefit was correct.

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