Imported manganese ore that had been washed, stripped of waste...

Imported manganese ore that had been washed, stripped of waste and sized before shipment was treated as manganese concentrate, not mere ore, for purposes of CVD exemption under Notification No. 04/2006-CE. Applying Chapter Note 4 to Chapter 26 and the HSN explanation, the CESTAT held that processes improving usability or quality and removing foreign matter bring about concentrate as a distinct excisable product. Because the exemption covered only ores, the benefit was unavailable. Following its earlier ruling on similar facts, the Tribunal upheld denial of exemption and dismissed the appeal.

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