2020 (12) TMI 845
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....otification, the respondents have been filing refund claim by the 7th of subsequent month. The original authority i.e. Deputy Commissioner, Jorhat Division sanctioned the refund of Rs. 18,65,212/- vide refund order dated 08.07.2009. The department being aggrieved, filed appeal before the lower appellate authority. The learned Commissioner(Appeals) upheld the refund order dated 08.07.2009 and rejected the appeal. Hence the present appeal before the Tribunal on the following grounds. (1) Whether the Commissioner(Appeals) Order-in-Appeal No.30/DIB/CE(A)/GHY/11 dated 30.08.2011, vide which he rejected Order-in-review no.25/COMMR/DBR/09 dated 18.11.2009 and upheld Order-in-Original No.R-11/2009-10 dated 08.07.09 passed by the Deputy Com....
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....m gas as basic starting raw material has been specified. (2) Sub-serial No.13(i) refers to gas only, i.e., items which are gaseous at standard/normal temperature and pressure. The items which are not gaseous at STP/NTP do not fall under Sub-Sl.No.13(i) and hence exemption is not available to such items in terms of the notification. (3) Solvex-GL is a mixture of naturally occurring bydrocarbon which is liquid at STP/NTP. The assessee classified Solvex-GL under 27101113 of CETA, 1985. This sub-heading covers "special boiling point spirit". As per supplementary chapter notes of Chapter 27, these meant light oils, not containing anti knocking preparation, and with difference of not more than 60 degree centigrade between the te....
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....he said Notification exempts specified excisable goods, which includes 'Gas based intermediate products'. 'Gas based intermediate products' appears in Serial No.13 of the Schedule to the said Notification. Under this Serial number there are twelve entries. These entries include not only activities, such as, 'gas exploration and production', 'gas distribution and bottling', 'power generation' but also solid and liquid substances, such as, 'plastics', fertilizers', 'yarn raw materials', 'nitric acid and ammonium nitrate'. Copy of the Notification No.33/99-CE dated 08.07.1999 is annexed and marked as Annexure-R-1 (2) Under Serial No.13, the first entry is 'gas exploration and production'. Under this entry, the Respondent claims exempt....
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....duct. It is gas based intermediate product because it arises from natural gas and is used as raw materials in paint and rubber industries. On this understanding of the law, the Respondent claimed exemption on Solvex-GL by way of filing several refund claims including refund claim for Rs. 19,21,170/- (excise duty plus education cesses) for the month of May, 2009. (5) By an order dated 08.07.2009, the Assistant Commissioner granted refund of Rs. 18,65,212/- to the respondent under Notification No.33/99-CE dated 08.07.1999 as amended vide Notification No.18/2008-CE dated 27.03.2008 (Sl.No.16 of the table). The Assistant Commissioner while granting the said refund held that Solvex-GL is eligible for exemption under Serial No.13 entry(i....
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....2 etc.; whereas LPG comprises of C-3 & C-4, 'Solvex GL' comprises of mainly C-5 and C-6; therefore both LLPT as well as Solvex GL are the two intermediate gaseous products of processed natural gas being recovered and stored under pressure as liquid. 8. We find that the Notification No.33/99 provides for exemption to goods specified in the schedule appended to the Notification and cleared from a unit located in the state of Assam or Tripura or Meghalaya or Mizoram or Nagaland or Arunachal Pradesh as the case may be, from so much of the duty of excise, leviable thereon, under any of the said acts as is equivalent to the amount of duty paid by the manufacturer of goods from the account current maintained under Rule 9 read with Rule 173 G....
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....hed; the word 'gas based intermediate products' has to be understood to mean the products or the intermediate products generated during the exploration and production of 'gas based products'. It is not the case of the department that the impugned products i.e. Solvex GL is not produced during the production /manufacture of LPG. Under such circumstances the exemption cannot be restricted to products which are formed in the gaseous stage alone for the reason that the exemption refers to gas based intermediate products and gas exploration and production. The correct interpretation of gas based products would go to include all the products which are produced in the processes of production of gas/LPG. The argument taken by the appellants appears....
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