ORDER
Jyoti Balasundaram, Member (J)
1. The appellants herein, who are manufacturers of iron and steel products falling under Chapters 72 & 73 of the Schedule to the CET 1985, make preparations of sand by mixing River sand with Bentonite and water which is then poured for the purpose of manufacture of sand moulds. The demand in this case has been raised on preparations of sand which the Department holds to be an excisable commodity falling under CET sub-heading 6807.00 which covers “all other articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or of similar material not elsewhere specified or included.” The order is challenged on the grounds that :-
(a) the item in question is not marketable as it has extremely short shelf life of approximately 5 minutes and is therefore, not excisable commodity (b) that the demand was barred by limitation since the notice for recovery of duty for the period 20th May, 1989 to September, 1993 has been issued on 20-5-1994, beyond the period of 6 months from the relevant date and the extended period is not applicable since there was no suppression from the Deptt. about the production of prepared sand and (c) that, in any event, even if the item is treated as to be excisable, it would be entitled to exemption in terms of Notification 217/86 as it is not excluded from the category of inputs.
3. We have heard Shri K.K. Anand, ld. Counsel and Shri V.M. Udhoji, ld. DR We find that there is no necessity for us to go into the arguments of marketability and limitation in view of the fact of the Tribunal in the case of TELCO v. C.C.E., Pune reported in 1996 (87) E.L.T. 122, has held that sand mix made out of sand and chemicals is an input within the meaning of Notification 217/86 and is entitled to the benefit of exemption in terms of this Notification. Following the ratio of the above decision which in turn is based upon the decision of the Larger Bench of the Tribunal in the case of Shri Rama Krishna Steel Industries Ltd. v. Collector reported in 1996 (82) E.L.T. 575, we hold that the appellants herein are entitled to exemption in terms of Notification 217/86 for the product in dispute i.e. preparation of sand, set aside the demand and allow the appeal.