2000 (10) TMI 659 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues:
1. Whether excise duty is leviable on untrimmed copper sheet manufactured by M/s. Overseas Trading Corporation.

Analysis:
The appeal, filed by Revenue, questioned the levy of excise duty on untrimmed copper sheets produced by M/s. Overseas Trading Corporation. The Assistant Commissioner's order classified untrimmed copper sheets under Heading 74.09 of the Central Excise Tariff Act as chargeable to duty, while the Commissioner (Appeals) overturned this decision citing a precedent case. The Revenue argued that untrimmed sheets are marketable and thus subject to excise duty, referencing a previous case involving Agrawal Rolling Mills to support their stance.

M/s. Overseas Trading Corporation, in their Cross objections, contended that untrimmed sheets only became marketable after further processing through cold rolling. They emphasized the lack of evidence proving the marketability of untrimmed sheets/circles and relied on various Supreme Court decisions to support their argument.

After considering the arguments from both sides, the Tribunal emphasized the requirement for a commodity to be marketable to be liable for excise duty. The Tribunal noted the absence of evidence regarding the marketability of untrimmed copper sheets in the Lohia Sheet Products case. Drawing parallels with the Agrawal Rolling Mills case, where untrimmed sheets were being sold in the market, the Tribunal concluded that the untrimmed sheets/circles were capable of being bought and sold. The Tribunal also referenced the Everest Metals case to highlight that captive consumption does not render a product non-marketable. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous order and allowed the appeal by Revenue, rejecting the Cross objections filed by M/s. Overseas Trading Corporation.