2015 (6) TMI 157

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....d in the fourth appeal, the assessee is Indian Oil Corporation. IPCL is engaged in the manufacture of various types of petrochemicals, falling under Chapter 27 and 29 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. It holds valid Central Excise registration under Rule 174 of the Central Excise Rules 1944. One of the products which is manufactured by IPCL is C4 Raffinate. On this, the IPCL has been paying 8 per cent duty, as it has been claiming the benefit of Notification No. 6/2000 dated 01.03.2000. We may mention that the normal rate of duty of the aforesaid product is 16 per cent. However, by virtue of the aforesaid notification, in respect of certain products duty is halved. The question arose as to whether the IPCL is entitled to the benefit of....

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....ous facets of the dispute and gone into the entire gamut of controversy. Many of the findings of the Commissioner in his order have not found favour with the CESTAT in the impugned decision rendered by it. We have heard learned counsel for the parties on all the aspects and have gone through the orders minutely through which we were taken by the learned counsel appearing for the parties. We are, however, of the opinion that it is not necessary to even advert to all those aspects of the matter inasmuch as the fulcrum of the dispute pertains to the interpretation which is to be accorded to the language used in Notification No. 6/2000 which confers, as mentioned above, partial exemption. It reads as under: - Chapter or heading No. or sub-he....

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....is found - (i) Sl. No. 24 of Notification NO. 6/2000-C.E., dated 1-3-2000 confers partial exemption to "Liquefied Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons other than natural gas, ethylene, propylene, butylene and butadiene". (emphasis supplied) In the aforesaid Sl. No. 24 of Notification No. 5/2000, there is no comma after the words 'gaseous hydrocarbons'. Therefore, the expression "other than" appearing after the words "gaseous hydro carbons" and before the words "natural gas" would qualify only the words "natural gas". In other words, the following goods are covered by the aforesaid Sl. Nos. (i) Liquefied petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons with exclusion of natural gas, (ii) Ethylene, (iii) ....

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....ove notification, Raffinate, even if it is assumed as butylene is not excluded from coverage of Sl. No. 24 of the Notification No. 6/2000, but would stand included in the first part of the Notification as liquefied petroleum gases. (iii) The order of the Commissioner on the question of availability of exemption Notification No. 6/2000-C.E., dated 1-3-2000 and No. 3/2001-C.E., dated 1-3-2001 is purely based on the intention of the legislature on the basis of the Finance Minister's speech. However, it is well settled legal position that the notification has to be interpreted on the basis of plain meaning of words and intention behind the notification cannot be a basis to interpret the notification. Commissioner has not refuted an....