TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (9) TMI 1078
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....tion Plant for concentration of Caustic Soda from 31.5% to 48% Wt. and a New 50 MT/day as NaOH 100% Caustic Soda Concentration and Flaking Unit for concentration of Caustic Soda from 31.5% to 98.5% Wt. which are classified under CTH 84198990 and the Assessable Value is Rs. 17,14,69,268/-. The respondent/assessee claimed concessional rate of BCD @ 5% under Notification No. 12/2012 - Cus. Dt. 17.03.2013 as per sub-Clause 1(i) of Sl. No. 417. The Revenue informed the assessee that the imported goods were not eligible for concessional rate of BCD on the ground that the same was not meant for modernizing an existing Caustic Soda unit or a caustic potash unit by using Membrane Cell Technology as envisaged in the Customs Notification No. 12/2012 (....
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....f BCD @ 5% for import of mono or bipolar membrane electrolysers and parts thereof including secondary brine purification components, jumper switches, filtering elements for hydrogen filters and any 'other machinery' required for modernization by using Membrane Cell Technology of an existing Caustic Soda unit or caustic potash unit, the same was not available, iii. The imported goods were meant to be used in the assessee's unit where the assessee has already been using Membrane Cell Technology for the manufacturing process, iv. That they already have imported a modern new bipolar membrane electrolyser that operates using Membrane Cell Technology, the present import of Evaporation Plant and Flaker Unit, which is used to work in conjunction ....
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....since that may include any machinery that is auxiliary to the process of manufacturing of Caustic Soda. ix. It is his further case that the exemption is available for capacity expansion only when a process of Membrane Cell Technology is used, since the evaporation, concentration and Flaking Plant do not actually involve Membrane Cell Technology. He also emphasized that Caustic Soda is obtained immediately after electrolysis either by mono or bipolar cell membrane technology, the Concentration and Flaking Units are employed for processing the Caustic Soda 'lye' of higher concentration which is supplementary to the manufacture of Caustic Soda 'lye' and, therefore, the claim of the assessee that the production process was not complete without....
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....aring the Evaporation Plant and Flaking Unit which was also a condition of Notification 12/2012 (supra). 4.2 The Ld. Advocate also took us through various Notifications issued right from 1987 to 2012 to explain that there was gradual liberalization of extension of benefit to the equipment used for production of Caustic Soda using Membrane Cell Technology which was available not only to the electrolysers but also to all the relevant machineries required to complete the production process and also pleaded that the process of concentration/flaking are not merely supplementary production processes, but integral part of the process of manufacturing Caustic Soda and, thus supported the findings of the Commissioner (Appeals). 5.1 We have conside....