2006 (12) TMI 3

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..... ioning plant/caustic soda plant can be subjected to duty under Central Excise Act, 1944 (in short the act). Stand of the appellant was that the fabrication of such plants out of paid bought out amounts to manufacture of a new marketable commodity and therefore, excise duty is payable. 2. The CEGAT held that no excise duty is leviable and thus these plants are not subject to excisabillity. It accepted stand of the respondents that these plants are basically systems comprising of various components and are thus in the nature of systems and are not machines as a whole. Accordingly, such systems as a whole cannot be considered to be excisable goods. 3. According to learned counsel for the appellant, the view taken by the CEGAT is untenab .....

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..... In exercise of the power conferred under Section 378 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Central Board of Excise and Custom considers it necessary, for the purpose of uniformity in connection with classification of goods erected and installed at site, to issue the following instructions. 2 . Attention is invited to Section 37B Order No.53/2/98-CX, dated 2.4.98 (F.No.154/4/98- CD.4) (1998 (100) E.L.T.T9) regarding the excisability of plant and machinery assembled at site. 3. A number of Apex Court judgments have been delivered on this issue in the recent past. Some of the important ones are mentioned be low: (i) Quality Steel Tubes Pvt. Ltd. v. CCE 1995 (75) E.L.T. 17 (S.C.) .....

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..... milation in the structure or other immovable property. c. Where change of identity takes place in the course of construction or erection of a structure which is an immovable property, then there would be no manufacture of "goods" involved and no levy of excise duty. d. Integrated plants/machines, as a whole, may or may not be 'goods'. For example, plants for transportation of material (such as handling plants) are actually a system or a net work of machines. 'The system comes into being upon assembly of its component. In such a situation there is no manufacture of 'goods' as it is only a case of assembly of manufactured goods into a system. This cannot be compared to a fabrication where a group of machines them selves may be combined to .....

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