TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (1) TMI 176
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....he value of the capital investment on plant and machinery in their unit exceeded the limit of Rs. 20 lakhs prescribed therein. 2. The brief facts of the case are that the appellants are manufacturers of welded wire mesh falling under Tariff Item 68 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff. They had filed a classification list effective from 24-4-1984 declaring that the value of the indigenous plant and machinery was Rs. 20,77,271.39 p. and paying duty therefrom. Later on, they revised the classification list with effect from 1-4-1985 and claimed exemption under Notification No. 77/85 declaring that the value of indigenous plant and machinery was Rs. 18,97,428.65 p. Since the balance sheet filed by the company as on 14-7-1984 sho....
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....er. Hence this appeal. 5. We have heard Shri J.S. Agarwal, learned Counsel for the appellants and Shri P.K. Jain, learned DR for the Revenue and carefully considered their submissions. The learned Counsel contends that the exchange rate prevalent at the time of confirmation of offer is relevant for the purpose of computing the value of the imported wire mesh welder; however, this question is the subject matter of independent proceedings before the Customs authorities in the form of a refund claim said to have been filed by the appellants and in the case, we are concerned only with the determination of value of capital investment on plant and machinery installed for the purpose of determining the eligibility to the benefit of the Not....
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....t on production and the number of cross wires to make one roll of welded wire mesh will only have to be controlled manually instead of automatically if the Resetting Device was functioning. This letter itself is in response to the query raised by the appellants on 12th April, 1984 as to the likely effect on the plant operations on account of non-functioning of the Automatic Resetting Device. The above two letters would go a long way in establishing that the imported plant is capable of producing welded wire mesh (for the manufacture of which the appellants are licensed) even without the functioning of the Automatic Resetting Device. Since the value of the imported wire mesh welder coupled with clearing charges therefor and value of indigeno....
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....ction, I feel that at this stage, we are required to take into consideration the value of the imported goods at the time of importation plus the duty paid and the clearing, transport charges and installation charges because the excise notification prescribes the limit for the value of capital investment and the capital investment would, inter alia, include all these factors. Since the exchange rate is subject-matter of independent proceedings, at this stage, we could take into account only the exchange rate actually applied by the proper Customs authorities at the time of clearance. 10. Furthermore, merely because the Automatic Resetting Device was not functioning and was not used at a particular time, its value cannot be excluded. ....