TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2000 (10) TMI 121
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....empts the goods, in question, from payment of Central Excise duty manufactured by Coir Industry. Vide impugned order, a demand of Rs. 14,88,75,634.00 was confirmed and a penalty of Rs. 14.89 crore was imposed on M/s. Regal Industries and a penalty of Rs. one lakh was imposed on the Managing Director of M/s. Regal Industries. Commissioner also confiscated the seized goods and ordered release of goods on payment of redemption fine. 3.Ld. Counsel, appearing on behalf of the appellants, submits that Notification No. 115/75-C.E. grants exemption to the goods manufactured in factory of Coir Industry. He submits that CBEC, vide its circular no. 13/14,86-CX-I dated 25-6-1986, clarified after taking into consideration the manufacturing process of t....
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....hown to him. Even at the time of personal hearing, the appellants made a request for seeking the samples taken into possession by the department of Chemical Engg. & Technology, Punjab University for their expert opinion, which was not acceded to by the adjudicating authority. He submits that as the goods, in question, were manufactured in the factory of Coir Industry, the appellants are entitled for the benefit of Notification No. 115/75-C.E. For this, he relies upon the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Bombay Oil Industries Ltd. v. CCE reported in 1997 (91) E.L.T. 538 and submits that the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that in respect of goods manufactured in a solvent extraction plants, are eligible for the benefit of Noti....
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....e goods under notification 115/75-C.E. He, therefore, prays that the appeals be allowed. 6.Ld. SDR, appearing on behalf of the revenue, relies upon the definition of Coir Industry, as given in Kothari's Industrial Directory of India 1992 (38th Edition) and The Wealth of India - a dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Industrials Products Part II, Delhi 1951. His submission is that as per the definition of Coir Industry, the production, in question, cannot be considered as a product of Coir Industry. His submission is also that the appellants were duly registered under the Rubber Act, 1947. Therefore, they were manufacturing the goods relating to rubber industry and not to the coir industry. He also relies upon the documents submitted by t....
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....an fixed vegetable oils of heading no. 15.03 and vegetable fats and oils of heading no. 15.04) falling under the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986), and manufactured in factories covered by any of the industries specified in the Schedule hereto annexed, from the whole of the duty of excise leviable thereon. THE SCHEDULE Coir Industry. Cashew Industry Tanning Industry. Oil Mill and Solvent Extraction Industry. Rice Milling Industry. 9.The wording of the above mentioned notification shows that all excisable goods, falling in the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, are exempt from payment of duty if manufactured in any of the industry specified therein. The CBEC issued a circular dated 25-6-1986, whereby ....
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.... was made to the Coir Board, Government of India, Cochin who have confirmed that rubberised coir industry should be treated as coir industry for the purpose of excise duty exemption in this case. Board, accordingly, holds that such rubberised coir mattresses would be eligible for exemption in terms of Notification No. 115/75-C.E., dated 30-4-1975, as amended." 10.The revenue authorities had drawn samples of the product, in question, and the same were sent to the C.R.C.L., New Delhi and as per test report, the coir contents in the samples were 55.5 per cent and the contents of latex were only 33.8 per cent. Therefore, as per the above circular the product in question is entitled for the benefit of Notification 115/75-C.E. This report was no....