A Trading firm has received a Export Order. The product has to be manufactured for which the trading firm intends to buy the raw material and give to a job worker and export subsequently. The trading firm is registered under excise as a trader.
1. Does he need to get registered as a Merchant Exporter ? and then can he avail the input rebate or go for a refund
2. OR does he need to get registered as a manufacturer to take the input credit / refund ?
Manufacturer liability in excise: job worker registration enables Cenvat credit or refund while exporters may use duty drawback. Excise liability rests with the manufacturer, so where a trading firm outsources production the job worker is treated as manufacturer and may obtain excise registration to claim Cenvat credit and refunds; alternatively, if Cenvat credit is not an issue, export may proceed under duty drawback or other export incentives. (AI Summary)