TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2000 (11) TMI 140
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....g to get out of it claiming benefit under the aforesaid Notification. 2.The brief facts of the case are that the manufacturer-respondent, Himalayan Cooperative Milk Product Union Limited manufactures butter and skimmed milk powder etc. in its industrial complex. For purposes of chilling plant of Dairy Unit, the respondent seems to have installed a plant manufacturing liquid nitrogen which item, undisputedly falls under Item 68 of the Excise Tariff. By means of Notification No. 105/80-C.E., dated 19-6-1980 the excise duty payable on goods falling under Item No. 68, is exempted in respect of the first clearances of the said goods for home consumption by or on behalf of a manufacturer from one or more factories up to a value not exceeding rupees thirty lakhs inter alia on the condition that the total of the value of the capital investment made from time to time, on the machinery installed for manufacturing said goods is not more than rupees ten lakhs. According to the manufacturer-respondents the total capital investment in the plant and machinery manufacturing liquid nitrogen is less than rupees ten lakhs, therefore the benefit of exemption from excise duty is admissible under the....
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....s, dated the 1st March 1979, the Central Government hereby exempts goods, falling under Item No. 68 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), (hereinafter referred to as the said goods), in respect of the first clearances of the said goods for home consumption by or on behalf of a manufacturer from one or more factories upto a value not exceeding rupees thirty lakhs, cleared on or after the 1st day of April in any financial year, from the whole of the duty of excise leviable thereon : Provided that during the period commencing on the 19th day of June 1980 and ending on the 31st day of March, 1981, the value of the clearances of the said goods eligible for exemption under this notification shall be subject to the following conditions, namely :- the aggregate of the value of clearances eligible for exemption contained in this notification during the aforesaid period, and the clearances, if any, already effected by or on behalf of a manufacturer in terms of the exemption contained in the notification No. 89/79-Central Excises, dated the 1st March, 1979 aforesaid, during the period commencing on the 1st day of April, 1980, shall not exceed rupee....
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....eeding rupees thirty lakhs. The exemption would however be allowable on fulfilment of a condition as contained in the proviso to clause (ii) of the Notification which says that an officer not below the rank of an Assistant Collector of Central Excise is to be satisfied that the sum total of the value of the capital investment made on the plant and machinery installed in the industrial unit manufacturing "said goods under clearance" is not more than rupees ten lakhs. On perusal of the proviso under consideration, it would be clear that it does not refer to any other goods under clearance except the goods falling under Item 68 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. In the beginning itself the Notification says that the goods falling under Item 68 are to be referred to, in the Notification, as 'said goods'. According to own findings of the Assistant Collector, liquid nitrogen is itself a finished product and falls under Tariff Item No. 68. In that view of the matter the question of taking into account the value of the capital investment made on plants and machinery manufacturing goods other than covered under Item No. 68 does not arise. We find no for....
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....ble to packaging industry. Hence, the benefit, as pleaded, was not admissible. Insofar as the other arguments raised about the value of the investment made for manufacture of printed cartons, it was held that cost of cutting machines etc. could not be excluded which according to the manufacturer was not used for printed cartons. The argument that the value of the investment in the plant and machinery manufacturing a particular item under a separate tariff would alone be taken into consideration was not accepted. The language of the exemption notification as involved in that case was quoted which was to the effect : "The sum total of the value of the capital investment made from time to time on plant and machinery installed in the industrial unit in which the goods under clearance are manufactured, is not more than rupees ten lakhs". (As quoted in Para 22(b) of the judgment). It is then observed that according to the said notification total value of the entire machinery in the industrial unit should be taken into account as there was no occasion for allocating the machinery between various goods manufactured therein and by way of an example, it was observed that it may create ....