TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (5) TMI 1047
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....ioner of Central Excise/ Commissioner of Central Excise(Appeals), Bangalore. Since common issues are involved in all these appeals, these are taken up together for hearing and disposal. 2. Briefly stated the facts common to all these cases are that the appellants are engaged in the assembling of office furniture like chairs, storage cabinets, filing racks, modular work stations tables, etc. falling under Chapter heading 9403 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985(CETA, 1985). On the basis of intelligence, the Preventive Department, visited the appellant's premises at Indira Nagar, Bangalore on 26/09/2007 and certain records, documents were retrieved for further verification. On scrutiny of the records and statements recorded subsequently from the officials of the company and others, it revealed that the appellant had imported components/parts of chairs, tables, workstations, etc. and also procured indigenously which were assembled at their premises/godowns or at the premises of the customers as per the purchase Orders. Alleging that the processes undertaken by the appellant resulted into manufacturing of excisable goods viz. 'furniture' falling under Chapter 9403 of CETA, 1985 show-ca....
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.... They do not undertake any manufacturing activity except assembling of the furniture imported in CKD condition which could neither amount to manufacture as there is no change in the identity of the product imported or procured locally. When they do not undertake the activity of manufacture but cleared the goods after assembly of the same and paid customs duty at the time of import in CKD condition, the question of discharging excise duty again on the assemble furnitures would amount to double taxation. The impugned order confirmed the demand solely on the basis of assumptions and presumptions without any evidence about undertaking of manufacturing activity by the appellant at their premises or at the premises of the customers. The finding of the adjudicating authority that the goods imported by the appellant or procured locally be treated as components and parts and hence the classification carried out under CTH 9403 is based on assumptions and presumptions without an iota of evidence. 3.2. It is his contention that the Customs authorities had assessed the goods as furniture and not as components and parts even for the purpose of levy of CVD which is equivalent to excise duty levi....
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....he incomplete or the unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or the finished article. It shall also be taken to include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), be presented un-assemble or disassembled". 3.5. Further they have submitted that burden of proving the allegation of manufacture and clandestine clearance is on the Department which in the present case, the Department has failed to establish with proper and cogent evidence. For the said submission, they drew support from the following judgments: i. Pacific Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. Vs. CCE, Bangalore-II [2007(216) ELT 263 (Tri. Bang.)] ii. Vidya Laminates Pvt. Ltd. Vs. CCE, Ahmedabad [2006(197) ELT 260 (Tri. Mumbai)] iii. CCE, Chennai-I Vs. Indian Steel & Allied Products [2016(344) ELT 292 (Tri. Chennai)] iv. CCE, Raipur Vs. ABS Metals (P) Ltd. [2016(341) ELT 425 (Tri. Del.)] v. Bindal Textile Mills Ltd. Vs. CCE, Thane [2016(338) ELT 428 (Tri. Mumbai)] 3.6. He has further argued that in the event, it is held that the appellants are liable to discharge duty, they are eligible to the benefit of cum duty val....
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.... since the appellant could not establish before the Commissioner that the sale price is inclusive of duty; hence cum-duty benefit was rightly denied to the appellant; also the appellant could not place on record evidences of duty paid nature of inputs in support of their claim for availing of cenvat credit; accordingly, the claim for cenvat credit was also rejected by the learned Commissioner. 5. Heard both sides and perused the records. 6. The issues involved in the present appeal for consideration are, whether : (i) assembling of various parts and components of furniture imported in CKD condition and also procured indigenously, at the premises of the appellant or at the site of the customers, results into 'manufacture' of 'Furniture' classifiable under CSH 9403 of CETA,1985, within the meaning of Section 2(f) of Central Excise Act, 1944; (ii) whether confirmation of demand by invoking extended period of limitation is justified;(iii) imposition of penalties on the Appellant and the Director is justified and (iii) Cum-tax value & Cenvat credit is admissible if the process of assembly of furnitures is held to be excisable . 7. It is not in dispute that the appellants are importin....
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.... termed in Central Excise Tariff as 'Furniture' under Chapter heading 9403. 57.3. In view of the above, I am of the opinion that the Parts and components procured from different sources, some of them are imported and some of them are locally purchased, when assembled into complete furniture's which are commercially known as distinct products namely tables, chairs, modular work stations, filing racks etc. amounts to manufacture of new products with in the meaning of Section 2(f) of the Central Excise Act 1944. In this regard, the following decisions of the Hon'ble Tribunal support my view." 9. Then following various judgments of this Tribunal referred to in the Order, he has concluded that assembling of office furniture from the components and parts procured from outside India and partly procured from local market amounts to manufacture of new excisable goods; hence liable to excise duty. We do not find any discrepancy in the said reasoning of the learned Commissioner. 10. Another argument advanced by the learned advocate for the appellant that the workstation which are installed at the premises of the customers being fixed to the ground and cannot easily be removed to another p....
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.... 17th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560 008 and the work of shifting the workstation was carried out by their staff and the same materials were used for Installation at the new premises, with some changes that suited the new premises were undertaken, it was modified/altered with slight changes in the design, the materials were dismantled by unscrewing the nuts bolts and fixed by screwing them in the new premises. 58.4. Further Sri Mukundan Koorma, Manager (Finance) of. M/s R.O.F & E P Ltd., Bangalore in his statement dated 31.12.2007 stated that whenever a client wishes to have a look at their item before purchase they deliver the piece at the customers place for a day or two, In case of Modular Workstation one sample unit of the workstation of standard size is assembled and supplied at the customer's site and after their inspection these are either sold or taken back to their godown or office; that the demonstration articles are taken to the customers place either by Sales executives or by delivery boys and the demonstration is done only by their Sales executives. 12. We find that the statements/depositions given by the witnesses before the Department have not....
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.... 2 have been held as 'furniture' after proper examination of the records whereas he has held items in Annexures 3 and 4 as immovable and has allowed deduction. 28. So far as the items such as chairs, tables etc. listed in Annexure 5 is concerned, the same admitted to be furniture by the assessee himself. The Commissioner having considered the aforesaid issue carefully and after proper scrutiny, the Tribunal was not justified in rejecting the said findings by mere conclusion and without trying to meet the findings recorded by the Commissioner. Thus, applying the aforesaid principle to the present case, we find that the learned Commissioner in the order on the basis of evidence has categorically held that the workstation installed at various sites of the customers from the imported parts and components are movable; hence excisable goods. 14. This Tribunal also in the case of Leo Circuit Boards Pvt. Ltd. (supra) more or less confronted with more or less a similar issue of excisability of assembly of Lottery Terminal out of CKD kit supplied by M/s. Pan India Network Infravest P. Ltd. By referring to the list of parts that have been assembled at the site of the customers, even thoug....
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....rer" shall be construed accordingly and shall include not only a person who employs hired labour in the production or manufacture of excisable goods, but also any person who engages in their production or manufacture on his own account; In terms of above Section 2(f) manufacture includes any process incidental or completion of manufacture product that means even if a product is partly manufactured any activity incidental/ancillary to complete such product shall also be amounting to manufacture. In the present case input are more than 100 parts and even these parts in the form of components and not a manufactured goods therefore, assembly of all these parts converting to distinguished product which is called as lottery terminal. Therefore, the activity from conversion of various components of lottery terminal into complete unit of lottery terminal is undoubtedly amounting to manufacture and correctly chargeable to excise duty under Chapter Heading 8470 90 10. 15. The learned advocate for the appellant has also vehemently argued that since the goods are imported as furniture being assessed by the Customs Department at the time of its import and customs duty was paid as furniture o....
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....nents of the furniture i.e. workstations in the premises of the customers would result into manufacture of excisable goods viz. 'furniture' classifiable under CTH 9403 and attracts duty. 17. Regarding invocation of extended period of limitation, we find that show-cause notices were issued demanding duty invoking extended period of limitation on completion of investigation. The learned advocate for the appellant has submitted that the issue of excisability of furniture has been settled by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Craft Interiors Pvt. Ltd. (supra) and before that law was not clear whether excise duty is leviable or otherwise on assembly of furniture; therefore, allegation of suppression of facts with intent to evade payment of duty cannot be sustained. Also, they have argued that the furniture imported in CKD condition had suffered customs duty; hence they were under the bona fide belief that assembly of the same would not attract excise duty again. The learned AR for the Revenue on the other hand argued that the judgment in Craft Interior Pvt. Ltd.'s case was delivered in 2006 and the appellant has not paid duty even thereafter till 2012 and the Department issued pe....