TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (3) TMI 140
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....cation No. 47/2002 dated September 6, 2002 to the Ministry of Defence. 3. By a Show Cause Notice dated December 7, 2006, the appellants were called upon to show cause as to why: (a) the benefit of exemption claimed under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., dated March 1, 2002, as amended vide Notification No. 47/2002 dated September 6, 2002 should not be denied to them; (b) the central excise duty of Rs. 87,16,610/- should not be demanded and recovered from them under the provisions of Section 11A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944; (c) interest should not be levied and recovered from them under Section 11AB ibid; (d) Penalty should not be imposed upon them under Rule 25 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002. It was, inter alia alleged in the said show cause notice that the appellants are not entitled to the exemption under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., dated March 1, 2002, as amended vide Notification No. 47/2002 dated September 6, 2002 in respect of 17 numbers of RODP on the ground that the benefit of the Notification is available to all items of machinery including instruments, apparatus and appliances, auxiliary equipment and their components/parts required for setting ....
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....aratus and appliances, auxiliary equipment and their components/parts required for setting up of water treatment plants but also to the plant itself. (v) The exemption under Notification No. 6/2002 dated 1-3-2002 as amended by Notification No. 47/2002 dated 6-9-2002 is applicable to the clearance of water treatment plant as clarified by the CBEC Circular No. 659/50/2002-CX., dated 6-9-2002. (vi) They have produced the requisite certificate from the appropriate authority in respect of each of the supply to the effect that the RODPs in question are cleared for intended use specified in the Notification No. 6/2002, as amended. Therefore, the Department can not go inside the issue again, once the essential certificate was issued by the competent authority i.e., Collector and District Magistrate of the district in which the plant is located. For this proposition, they relied upon the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Zuari Industries Ltd. v. CCE reported in 2007 (210) E.L.T. 648 (S.C.). (vii) Even if it is assumed that the RODP are not eligible to the benefit of exemption, they will be entitled to avail and utilize the credit of the duty paid on the inputs used in the manuf....
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....tment plants includes a plant for desalination, demineralization or purification of water or for carrying out any similar process or processes intended to make the water fit for human or animal consumption, but does not include a plant supplying water for industrial purposes. Nil 47A Condition No. Conditions "47A If, a certificate issued by the Collector/District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner of the District in which the plant is located, is produced to the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, having jurisdiction to the effect that such good are cleared for the intended use specified in column (3) of the Table." 11. We find that the appellants' contention that they have cleared some of the equipments (items of machinery) required for setting up a water treatment plant and not the entire water treatment plant is not correct. The certificate issued by the Collector and District Magistrate, Jaisalmer in respect of Order No. 1017/OT-0832/2005-2006/08/OW, dated 26-10-2005, is clearly in respect of "Desalination Plant" and not in respect of equipment or any machinery require....
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....59/50/2002-CX., dated 6-9-2002 in relation to exemption from Customs and Central Excise duty to Water Treatment Plants. "Notification 91/2002-Cus., 92/2002-Cus., 93/2002-Cus. and 47/2002-C.E., all dated 6th September, 2002 have been issued to extend exemption from Customs and Central Excise duties in respect of water treatment projects for supply of drinking water for human and animal consumption. 2. On the Customs side, such projects have been notified for the benefit of assessment as project import under heading 98.01 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The duty applicable to such projects has been fully exempted. They would attract 'nil' basic duty and 'nil' additional duty. Consequently, they would be exempt from Special Additional Duty as well. As these projects would be assessed under heading 98.01, the benefit would be available to all items of machinery, including instruments, apparatus and appliances, auxiliary equipment and their components/parts required for the initial setting up of the project as well as for substantial expansion of any such project. The concession would be available regardless of whether the full plant is imported or only some....
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....for exemption to the plant on the Custom side and not on the Central Excise side and that para 3 of the said Circular clarifies only about the exemption from excise duty to machinery, including instruments etc. required for suing up of water treatment plant intended to treat water to make it fit for consumption of humans or animals. We are of the view that this approach of the Commissioner is discriminatory. It can never be the intention of the Government to tax the goods manufactured in India and exempt identical goods imported from outside India. Once a benefit has been extended to the goods imported from outside India, the same will have to be extended to the goods manufactured indigenously as well. The language of the Heading 98.01 is similar to the language employed in the Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., dated 1-3-2002 as amended and, therefore, the clarification of the Board will equally apply to the said Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., dated 1-3-2002 as amended. 14. If all the machineries that are required to set up a plant can get a benefit, there is no justification to deny the benefit to the plant itself. It is only logical that the exemption, which is available to all ite....