2023 (10) TMI 426

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....ured by them as well as duty paid purchased clinkers from their other units at Ariyalur, Aathiyur and Jayanthipuram. They were not maintaining separate records for manufacture of cement out of their own manufactured clinkers and duty paid purchased clinkers. The appellants were clearing their final product 'cement' to indigenous customers on payment of duty and also to the units situated in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) without payment of duty. 1.2 The officers of the Internal Audit Party, during the course of audit of accounts noticed that for the period from August 2012 to October 2013, the appellant has cleared cement to various Special Economic Zone under Rule 30 of the SEZ Rules, 2006 without payment of Central Excise duty based o....

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....cleared to Special Economic Zone (SEZ) without payment of duty. The said issue was considered by the Tribunal in a batch of cases including the case of the appellant vide Final Order No. 40936-40957/2015 dated 02.07.2015. The relevant paragraph reads as under:- "26. In this regard, it is pertinent to state that if the Revenues contention is to be taken that the goods cleared to the SEZ units are exempted, then the question of following the procedures stipulated under SEZ Act and under Rule 19 of Central Excise Rules 2002 does not arise. On a perusal of the records, we find that the appellants have cleared the goods to SEZ 'under-bond' by following the ARE-1 procedures prescribed under Rule 19 of the Cenvat Credit Rules. Rule 19 of ....

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.... duty.  ... .... .... 32. As regards the last issue, the Revenue contended that the clause (i) of proviso to Notification No. 67/95 provides exception only for clearance to FTZ and not for SEZ. It is contended that the very purpose of the non-inclusion of SEZ in Notification No.67/95 is to make it apply only to FTZ and not to SEZ. We are unable to accept department's view for the reasons that during the relevant period under dispute there were no FTZ in operation and if the Revenues view is to be taken, no clearance would be made to FTZ after the enactment of SEZ Act with effect from 10.02.2006. Once the SEZ Act came into effect from 10.02.2006 all the units functioning as FTZ were declared as SEZ un....