ORDER
T.K. Jayaraman, Member (T)
1. Revenue has filed these appeals against the Orders-in-Appeal Nos. 94 & 95/2004 dated 15-10-2004 passed by the Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise, Guntur.
2. The brief facts which are relevant for the present appeal are as follows:
The Commissioner (Appeals) has allowed the benefit of exemption Notification 6/2002 dated 1-3-2002 in respect of batteries, which were made by the respondents for use in certain devices covered in list 9 (Sl. No. 237 of the Table). Further, the Commissioner (Appeals) allowed the benefit of exemption in respect of FCBC Battery cleared to ISRO without payment of duty under notification 10/97 even though the respondents did not produce the required certificate at the time of clearance of the goods. He held that the lapse is only of technical nature and substantial benefit of exemption cannot be denied. Revenue has come up before the Tribunal aggrieved over the impugned order of the Commissioner.
3. Shri Ganesh Havanur, the learned SDR, appeared for the Revenue and reiterated the Grounds of Appeal. Shri P.C. Anand, the learned Advocate, appeared for the respondent.
4. We have heard both the parties. The relevant extract of Notification 6/2002 with regard to Sl. No. 237 is as follows:
Sl. Chapter Head- Description of Rate under Rate under Con-
No. ing No. or Sub- goods the First the Second dition
Heading No. Schedule Schedule No.
____________________________________________________________________________________
237 Any Non-conventional NIL - -
Chapter energy devices/
systems specified
in List 9
List 9 (See S. No. 237 of the Table)
(1) Flat plate solar Collector (1) Black continuously plated solar selective coating sheets (in cut length or in coil) and fins and tubes (3) Concentrating and pipe type solar collector (4) Solar cooker (5) Solar water heater and system (6) Solar air heating system (7) Solar low pressure steam system (8) Solar stills and desalination system (9) Solar pump based on solar thermal and solar photovoltaic conversion (10) Solar power generating system (11) Solar photovoltaic module and panel for water pumping and other applications (12) Solar crop drier and system (13) Wind operated electricity generator, its components and parts thereof (14) Water pumping wind mill, wind aero-generator and battery charger (15) Bio-gas plant and bio-gas engine (16) Agricultural, forestry, agro-industrial, industrial, municipal and urban waste conversion device producing energy (17) Equipment for utilizing ocean wave energy (18) Solar lantern (19) Ocean thermal energy conversion system (20) Solar photovoltaic cell (21) Parts consumed within the factory of production of such parts for the manufacture of goods specified at Sl. Nos. 1 to 20 above.
The Batteries are meant for certain devices mentioned in List 9 (Sl. No. 16) above. Sl. No. 21 covers parts consumed within the factory of production of such parts for the manufacture of goods specified at Sl. Nos. 1-20. Combining Entry Nos. 16 and 21 of List 9, the Commissioner (Appeals) has allowed the benefit of exemption to the batteries treating them as parts of device in Sl. No. 16. According to the Revenue, the batteries cannot be considered as parts of devices mentioned in Sl. No. 16. In our view, if the batteries are necessary for the devices mentioned in Sl. No. 16, there is nothing wrong in holding them as parts. We do not find any infirmity in the Commissioner (Appeals)’s order on this point. As regards the extension of benefit of exemption notification 10/97, in spite of the fact that the required certificate was not produced at the time of clearance, we find that the Commissioner (Appeals) has correctly held that substantial benefit of exemption cannot be denied on the ground of procedural lapse. In our view, Revenue’s appeal has no merits. Hence, the same is dismissed.
(Pronounced in open Court on 10-4-2006)