2026 (2) TMI 429

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.... appellant to small scale manufacturers. From July, 2011 onwards, the appellant stopped manufacturing Solvex-GL and started manufacturing Naphtha. 2.1. The appellant, on 20.10.1998, filed a declaration under erstwhile Rule 173B for the product 'LPG'. Further, another declaration under Rule 173B was filed on 13.07.2000 for an additional product, namely, Solvex-GL. 2.2. The officials of the Department visited the appellant's plant on 24.12.2004 and collected samples of the product viz. Solvex-GL. 2.3. The appellant was manufacturing LPG and Solvex-GL falling under Central Excise Tariff Sub- Heading No. 27111900 and 27101113 respectively and submitted an application dated 06.03.2000 seeking exemption from duties of excise in terms of ....

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....er which the eligible items are 'gas exploration' and 'gas production'; that the appellant purchases natural gas from ONGC and extracts C3 and C4 by physical method and termed as 'LPG', which by its very name, is a gas; that had the appellant's activities not satisfied the definition of 'manufacture', they would not have to pay central excise duty; that the very fact that they had paid central excise duty on LPG shows that there is a production and the product is LPG, which is fuel and therefore an intermediary product as per the wordings of the Notification at Sl. No. 13. 2.6. The Department filed an appeal before this Tribunal against the Order of the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals). However, the Committee on Disputes (COD) vide minutes of ....

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....(i) of Notification No. 33/1999-C.E. dated 08.07.1999, which covers gas based intermediate products - gas exploration and production. 3.3. All the Show Cause Notices were issued subsequent to the amendment to Notification No. 33/1999-C.E. dated 08.07.1999 vide Notification No. 21/2007-C.E. dated 25.04.2007 whereby an exclusion from the exemption available in Notification No. 33/1999-C.E. was introduced in respect of the goods falling under Chapter 27 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and which are produced by "petroleum, oil or gas refineries". 3.4. The Show Cause Notices were adjudicated and refund claim for the period from October, 2000 to November, 2007 was sanctioned holding that the appellant was eligible for the benefit und....

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....or not. 4.1. During the pendency of the Show Cause Notice dated 26.08.2013, the appellant filed a Civil Writ Petition No. 5444/2014 before the Hon'ble Guwahati High Court and challenged the amendment made to Notification No. 33/1999-C.E. dated 08.07.1999 whereby w.e.f. 01.04.2008 the Government of India a separate modified Notification No. 18/2008-C.E. dated 27.03.2008 under Section 5A of the Act, 1944 and under Section 3 of the Act of 57 whereunder the concession of exemption of 100% excise duty was modified and limited to the extent of value addition with varying rates of exemption of central excise duty. The Hon'ble High Court held that "the change in the stand to withdraw the concessions does not appear to be sound and proper". 4.....