TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (6) TMI 1726
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.... Additional duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957 and Section 3(3) of the Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Articles) Act, 1978. 4. Clause 4 of the notification of 8-7-1999 inter alia provided that the exemption contained in the notification shall apply to the units located in various locations specified in the list which is annexed to the said notification. It further provided that the exemption shall be for a period not exceeding ten years from the date of publication of the notification or from the date of commencement of commercial production, whichever is later. Clause 4 of the notification dated 8-7-1999 is as under :- "4. The exemption contained in this notification shall apply of the sold units for a period of not exceeding ten years from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette or from the date of commencement of commercial production whichever is later." 5. The notification of 8-7-1999 also contained a list of locations and the industrial units located within the said list of locations are entitled for the exemption from excise duty. Further the exemptions are for a period not ....
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....at under the notification of 18-7-2009, the benefit is for a period of ten years from the date of the notification and hence, further exemption cannot be given after expiry of the period of ten years from the said notification. The Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, Guwahati by his orders rejected the claim of the appellant for exemption of excise duties for the periods subsequent to 8-7-2009. 11. The appellant assailed the said decision of the respondent authorities before the Commissioner of Appeals. The Commissioner of Appeals by the order dated 27-8-2013 had held that the claim of the appellant that they were granted exemption for a period of 10 (ten) years w.e.f. 12-2-2002 as per the eligibility order dated 31-1-2003 is without any legal basis and every monthly order of exemption is an independent order and there is no provision for an one-time exemption of 10 (ten) years. 12. Being aggrieved, the appellant assailed the said decision of the Commissioner of Appeals before the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Eastern Zonal Bench at Kolkata (in short CESTAT). In the appeal, the eligibility order dated 31-1-2003, wherein, it is provided that th....
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....ncluding the order of Commissioner (Appeals) and the CESTAT, Kolkata such entitlement of exemption for ten years cannot be reduced. 17. It is taken note of that the CESTAT, Kolkata in its order dated 31-8-2016 had arrived at a categorical conclusion that as per clause 4 of the notification dated 8-7-1999, the period of ten years has to be calculated from the date of the said notification and that there is no provision that the period of ten years has to commence from the date of any other subsequent notification. 18. When the provisions of clause 4 of the notification of 8-7-1999 is examined, it is seen that the said clause specifically provides that the period of ten years would commence from the date of publication of the said notification i.e. 8-7-1999. Further, by the notification of 12-2-2002 an amendment was brought in to the notification of 8-7-1999 whereby the provisions of the said notification were made applicable to some more locations. Apart from bringing in some more locations no further amendment was made to the notification of 8-7-1999. As a consequence the provision of clause 4 of the notification of 8-7-1999, even after the amendment of 12-2-2002, r....
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....y or doubt about applicability is lifted and the subject falls in the notification then full play should be given to it and it calls for a wider and liberal construction." 22. In Principles of Statutory Interpretation by Justice G.P. Singh 14th edition in Page 104 it has been provided as follows :- "There can, however, be no doubt that exemptions made with a beneficent object e.g., to encourage increased production or to give incentive to co-operative movement or for the purpose of developing urban or rural areas for public goods, or for encouraging investment in new machinery or plant or a new industrial unit or setting up an industry in the backward area in terms of the industrial policy, have to be liberally construed. Similarly, beneficial notifications having their purpose as encouragement or promotion of certain activities should be liberally interpreted. Therefore, when a provision is made permitting concessional rates of tax for the purpose of encouraging an industrial activity, the provision has to be liberally construed. So if the object of an exemption notification is to encourage the use of indigenous rice bran oil and to discourage the use of edible oi....
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....sitions, amongst others can be culled out : (i) If there is a question as to whether a beneficiary comes within the purview of an exemption notification, then it being in the nature of an exception has to be strictly construed, but once, it is established that the beneficiary is entitled to the benefit of exemption, then the provisions of the exemption notification has to be given a wider and liberal construction. (ii) When the exemptions are granted with the object to encourage industrial growth, or to encourage exports, the exemptions provided in the exemption notification be given its full effect and such entitlements should not be constricted by attempting a narrower construction. 26. In view of the aforesaid propositions of law, the notifications dated 8-7-1999 and 12-2-2002 have to be interpreted in a manner that once a particular industrial unit is brought within the purview of the notification of 8-7-1999 by including through an amendment made by the notification of 12-2-2002, the exemption benefit provided by the notification of 8-7-1999 would be squarely applicable in respect of such industrial unit....