1997 (3) TMI 346

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....Excise duty payable thereon. Show cause notice was issued in July, 1987 alleging non-payment of duty amounting to Rs. 7,56,400.00 on goods valued at Rs. 30,25,600.10 removed during the period February, 1986 to January, 1987. Suppression of facts regarding such manufacture was alleged and the longer period of limitation under the proviso to Section 11A(1) of Central Excise Act, 1944 was invoked. The notice was resisted by the appellant. After grant of personal hearing, the Collector passed the impugned order holding that, barring certain items specified by him in the order, the rest were steel furniture falling under Tariff sub-heading 9403.00. He rejected the defence pleas that (1) the items were not goods attracting excise duty (2) they we....

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....nior Departmental Representative stated in reply that the goods in question have been rightly held by the Collector as steel furniture falling under Heading 9403.00. He cited the Tribunal decision in Industrial Laundry and Drycleaning Equipment Co. Pvt. Ltd. v. C.C.E., Bombay [1999 (110) E.L.T. 581 (T) = 1997 (21) RLT 638] in support of the department's case for classifying the goods under Tariff sub-heading 9403.00. He also referred to the Explanatory Notes under Heading 94.03 in the CCC Nomenclature wherein that heading has been held to cover not only furniture for private dwellings, offices, schools and shops but also that for stores, workshops and technical offices. Hence the goods in question satisfy the description furniture and sub-h....

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....nery, plant, equipment, apparatus, tools or appliances used for producing or processing of any goods or for bringing about any change in any substance in or in relation to the manufacture of the final product. This would clearly indicate that but for this specific exclusion provision, items like appliances or equipment would also be inputs eligible for the benefit of exemption. But the said exclusion is only for such appliances, equipment, etc. which are used for producing or processing of any goods or for bringing about any change in any substance in or in relation to the manufacture of the final products. The Collector had ruled out the benefit of Notification 217/86 on the ground that they are not used in or in relation to the manufactur....