ORDER
Chittaranjan Satapathy, Member (T)
1. Heard both sides. Since both these appeals relate to a common issue, they are taken together for hearing and disposal. Shri J.P. Khaitan, learned Senior Advocate for the appellants states that the appellants sent some raw materials and inputs without taking MODVAT Credit thereon, to their job workers for further processing. After further processing, the impugned goods were received back in the factory of the appellants. He states that the demand relates to only such goods which were used for further manufacture of low priced footwear completely exempt from duty. He clarifies that there is no dispute about other goods used in the manufacture of dutiable footwear. He, further, clarifies that for the period from 1.3.01 to 20.9.01, there was no exemption even in the case of low priced footwear. He also states that all along under Notification No. 10/96-CE dated 23.7.96, exemption was available to parts of exempted footwear used in the factory of production except for the period from 1.3.01 to 20.9.01.
1.1. Shri Khaitan submits that in respect of the raw materials and inputs supplied by the appellants to their job workers in these two cases, the appellants did not take any input duty credit and since low priced footwear ultimately manufactured after processing by the job workers, was completely exempt, the appellants were not eligible for the exemption under Notification No. 214/86-CE dated 25.3.86 since the said Notification stipulates that goods manufactured in a factory of the job worker are exempted only if used in relation to the manufacture of final products on which the duty of excise is leviable in full or in part. He states that since the appellants were not eligible to avail of the benefit of Notification No. 214/86-CE in respect of the impugned goods, the procedure prescribed thereunder, including the stipulation of giving an undertaking to pay the duty is not applicable in the case of the appellants. He states that if at all duty was to be paid, the same should have been demanded from the job workers. In this connection, he cites a decision of this Bench in the case of Hindusthan Engineering & Industries Ltd. v. C.C.Ex, Kolkata-II vide Order No. A-33/KOL/08 dated 7.1.08, which has decided on a similar issue relating to intermediate goods used in the manufacture of exempted railway wagons.
2. Shri Y.S. Loni, learned J.D.R. for the department supports the impugned Orders and states that the appellants are bound to discharge the duty-liability in respect of the intermediate goods manufactured by the job workers. He also brings to our notice that the appeal against the Tribunal’s Order in the case of C.C.Ex., Jaipur v. Shri Ram Rayons 2002 (147) ELT 1028 (Tri.-Del.) has been admitted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, but fairly states that no stay has been granted against the Tribunal’s Order, vide .
3. After hearing both sides and perusal of the case records including the cited decisions, we note that the decision in the case of Shri Ram Rayons (cited supra) was rendered in the context of movements of goods under Rule 57F of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, where the credit of duty on raw materials and inputs was taken by the manufacturer before sending the same to the job workers. As such, the appeals before us are different from the one which was decided in the case of Shri Ram Rayons (cited supra). The appeals before us are akin to the one we have decided in the case of M/s. Hindusthan Engineering & Industries Ltd. (cited supra). In the said case, we have held that since the Notification No. 214/86-CE is not applicable, the appellants are not responsible for paying any duty on the impugned materials processed by the job workers, even if the same were to be held as excisable. We follow the ratio of the said Order and set aside the impugned Orders and allow the appeals. Since we have allowed the appeals following our earlier decision, we have not gone into the other issues raised in the appeals by the appellants, such as limitation etc.
(Dictated and pronounced in the open court.)