2011 (12) TMI 401

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....pellant and cleared to Indian Space Research Organization. 3. The contention of the appellant is that the goods in question were cleared by availing the benefit of Notification no. 64/95-CE and the requisite certificate from the Controller, Indian Space Research Organization, as required under the Notification was produced. The contention is that the Notification provides exemption from payment of duty if the systems and sub-systems of launch vehicles or satellite projects were cleared to the Indian Space Research Organization and the only condition is that before the clearance of the goods, a certificate from an officer not below the rank of an Assistant Scientific Secretary in the Indian Space Research Organization giving the description....

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....he Revenue submitted that aluminium alloy rods, aluminium alloy flats and aluminium alloy billets cannot be considered as systems or sub-systems for launch vehicle projects or for satellite projects. The Revenue relied upon the findings of the adjudicating authority in para 20 of the order where the definition of systems and sub-systems as per the Oxford Dictionary and other dictionaries was taken into consideration. The Revenue submitted that the notification is prospective in nature and relied upon the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Bombay Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. vs. UOI reported in 1995 (77) ELT 32 (SC). The contention of the Revenue is also that as the appellant is asking for the benefit of the notification, there....

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....aluminium alloy flats and aluminium alloy billets which would be considered as systems or sub-systems. As per the Oxford Dictionary (Tenth Edition), the definition of the term 'system' is "a complex whole, a set of things working together as a mechanism or interconnecting network". Similarly, the system is defined in Chambers 20th Century Dictionary as "anything formed of parts placed together or adjusted into a regular and connected whole". In view of the above definition of system, we find that the appellant is not clearing any systems or sub-systems as the goods in question are aluminium alloy rods, aluminium alloy flats and aluminium alloy billets, hence the appellant is not entitled for the benefit of the notification. Further, we find....

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....rovides some colour specification, which was deleted by subsequent notification. The Hon'ble Supreme Court rejected the contention of the assessee that the Notification whereby the colour specification was deleted was retrospective in nature inspite of the fact that the Tribunal held that colour specification was an error and that the error was removed. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the colour specification cannot be ignored when it was part of the law. In view of this we find no merit in the contention of the appellant that the subsequent notification has retrospective effect. For the benefit of the Notification, the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Novopan India Ltd. (supra) held that exemption being in the nature of exception t....