TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (1) TMI 1099
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.... ordering recovery of duties of central excise amounting to Rs. 18,47,929 under section 11A of Central Excise Act, 1944, along with attendant interest under section 11AB of Central Excise Act, 1944, besides confirming penalty of like amount under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944, the limited issue for resolution is the entitlement of the appellant to exemption from duty in the procurement of material for manufacture of goods included in the Letter of Permission issued by the Development Commissioner under chapter 9 of EXIM Policy 1997-2002 notified by Director General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 for the period from 24th June 2002 to 1st January 2004 when the relevant notification, is....
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....id not provide for exemptions to 'trading units' that was excluded in the Foreign Trade Policy 2002-07. Consequent upon the inter-ministerial decision to continue with existing 'trading units' till the validity of their permissions, notification no. 01/2004-CE dated 2 January 2004 made necessary changes in notification no. 22/2003-CE by providing that '(e) all goods specified in the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986), when brought in for the purposes of trading by the trading units which were in existence prior to the 31st March, 2002 and having valid letter of permission to continue under the Export Oriented Undertaking Scheme' 4. In the meanwhile, the appellant had continued to procure inputs for export a....
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....ndings. 6. Learned Authorised Representative argued that the scheme itself had done away with 'trading' as a recognised activity for conferment of the benefits available to manufacturing and producing units. He further contends that exemptions from duty are entirely within the competence of the Central Government and that the exemption notification should be administered strictly. He, therefore, urges us to dismiss the appeal. 7. Exemptions from duties of central excise are available, notwithstanding any policy statement of the Central Government, only through a valid notification issued under section 5A of Central Excise Act, 1944 and it is clear, beyond all doubt, that the two notifications cited supra did not envisage exemptions for 't....
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....ral Excise, Mumbai v. Blue Star Ltd [2015 (318) ELT 11 (SC)] has held that the extended period could not be invoked where the central excise authorities themselves had accorded the benefit of exemption. In the dispute that was agitated before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the extended period was sought to be invoked on the failure to pay duty on clearances effected by the assessee despite the central excise officials having accorded the benefit of exemption against CT-3 documentation received from the buyer of the goods when the goods were cleared. In the present dispute, the goods were obtained against CT-3 documentation issued to the appellant by claiming the privilege under Letter of Permission. 10. The liability to make good the duty fore....