2018 (5) TMI 864

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.... on various petroleum products which are consumed by the respondent whether it can be refunded or otherwise. 4. Respondent is an organization recognized as an international organization by virtue of Section 3 of the United Nations Act and also extended benefit of Notification No. 108/95-CE dated 28.08.1995. In pursuance to conditions of such Notification, and by virtue of being International organization, respondent during the period June, 2015 to October, 2015 procured duty paid petroleum products and filed refund claims (5 no. s) of Central Excise duty for such procurements. Show cause notices were issued to respondent directing them as to why refund claim should not be rejected; the appellant agitated the matter on merits before the A....

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.... the United Nations or to an international organization for their official use or supplied to the projects financed by the United Nations or the said international organization as approved by the Government of India. It has been submitted in appeal by the respondent that the activities undertaken by them includes agricultural and biotech research activities including operation and movement of agricultural implements and machinery used for field research and that the fuel obtained in terms of the exemption granted under Notification No. 108/95-C.E has been used primarily to maintain global gene bank facility and modern bio-tech laboratory which are technical requirements in the research activities being carried on by them. They are mandated ....

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....ing the said CBEC instruction dated 20.04.1976. Going by the title of the said Public Notice whose current validity has not been shown to be inapplicable by the respondent in the instant proceedings, I am of the considered view, as has been pointed out in the departmental appeal that the fuel consumed exclusively for the vehicles used by the UN/international organizations is required to be restricted by the quantity limit per vehicle per month specified therein. The respondent has sought to submit that the said circulars would apply only to diplomatic missions and that they being an international organization cannot be considered as a diplomatic mission. However, it is my considered view that the circular F.No. III/7/76-CX3 dt. 20.04.1976 r....

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....Act, 1947 to which category the respondent falls. It appears that CBEC in circular F.No. 111/5/79-CX3 dt. 19.10.1979 has not included international organization for such restriction on quantity. Therefore, the restriction of the amount of refund admissible on fuel on per litre basis would not apply to the instant case. It is also noted that while granting adhoc exemption order No. 137/01/2011-CX issued in F.No. 101/14/2010-CX3 dated 27.04.2011, CBEC has held that since ICRISAT has been granted privileges under United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 they are entitled to exemption from payment of excise duties on various items for official use in terms of the international conventions. 7. In view of the above discussion....

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....if necessary. It has now been reported that there is difficulty in extending the benefit of Notification No. 108/95-Central Excise dated 28.08.1995 (as amended) to Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants which are not supplied to ICRISAT directly by the manufacturers but through their depots. It has been reported that oil companies cannot supply the goods from refinery to ICRISAT as these are transferred through a pipeline and not in a tanker. Therefore benefit of Notification cannot be extended while clearing goods from factory. The provisions of refund for goods supplied to diplomatic mission has also been referred. Accordingly, a proposal has been received by the Board from Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Visakhapatnam for providing a refund....