2009 (11) TMI 404 - AT - Central Excise

Tiles- Notification No. 6/02-C.E., dated 1-3-2002 as amended by Notification No. 45/2003-C.E., dated 14-5-2003- whether the assessees are entitled for refund of the amount which is claimed as the amount availed as credit on the inputs utilised in manufacture of the goods which were exported by the appellants availing benefit under Notification No. 6/02-C.E., dated 1-3-2002 as amended by Notification No. 45/2003-C.E., dated 14-5-2003. Held that- there is no dispute about the credit availed by the appellant. benefit of exemption under notification not available.

Summary

Issues:
Whether the assessees are entitled to a refund of the amount claimed as credit on inputs utilized in the manufacture of exported goods under specific notifications.

Analysis:
The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi, comprising Justice R.M.S. Khandeparkar, President, and Rakesh Kumar, Member (T), heard a case where the appellants did not appear despite being served notice. The central issue across all appeals was whether the assessees could claim a refund for the amount availed as credit on inputs used in manufacturing goods exported under Notification No. 6/02-C.E., dated 1-3-2002, as amended by Notification No. 45/2003-C.E., dated 14-5-2003.

Under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., dated 1-3-2002, certain excisable goods were exempted from excess excise duty and special duty of excise, subject to specific conditions. Initially, ceramic tiles were not included in the exempted items. However, Notification No. 45/2003-C.E., dated 14-5-2003, later included ceramic tiles manufactured without specific types of fuel under the exemption, provided that no credit of duty paid on inputs used in manufacturing such tiles had been taken under the Cenvat Credit Rules 2002.

The Tribunal highlighted that the notifications allowed products like ceramic tiles to benefit from the exemptions but with the condition that manufacturers should not avail credit on duty paid for inputs used in manufacturing those specific goods. In the present cases, it was undisputed that the appellants had indeed availed credit on duty paid for inputs used in manufacturing ceramic tiles. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the appellants were not eligible for the benefits under the notifications, leading to the dismissal of the appeals.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the impugned order, stating that since the appellants had availed credit on duty paid for inputs used in manufacturing ceramic tiles, they were not entitled to the benefits under the notifications. Therefore, the appeals were dismissed based on the non-compliance with the conditions specified in the relevant notifications.