Central Excise - SSI Exemption - Exemption for own goods and duty payment with CENVAT Credit for branded goods - Permissible : Supreme Court
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, NOV 04, 2015: IT is not in dispute that the respondents - assessees fulfill eligibility conditions for availing the benefit of SSI exemption under the Notifications. However, in addition to manufacturing goods on their own account, they are also doing job work of manufacturing goods of certain other parties on job work basis. The goods manufactured for third parties bear the brand name of those third parties and in respect of such goods manufactured for third parties, the assessees paid the normal duty of excise but at the same time availed the benefit of MODVAT /CENVAT credit as well.
Thus, the real issue is as to whether availing the benefit of MODVAT /CENVAT credit in respect of branded goods of third parties manufactured by the assessees on job work basis, disentitles them from availing the benefit of the SSI Notifications?
The overall scheme of SSI Notifications : The Supreme Court by a holistic reading of the notifications focused on the overall scheme of the SSI Notifications:
It, inter alia, provides that the clearances bearing the brand name or trade name of third parties which are ineligible for grant of this exemption, for the purposes of determining aggregate value of clearances for home consumption, are not to be included. These Notifications also make it clear that the exemption contained therein is not to apply to the specified goods bearing a brand name or trade name, whether registered or not, of any person, except under certain circumstances specifically stipulated therein. The Notifications also clarify that for the purpose of these Notifications, where the goods manufactured by a manufacturer bear brand name or trade name (whether registered or not) of any manufacturer of trade, they shall not be deemed to have been manufactured by such other manufacturer or trade.
Reading of the aforesaid provisions in the Notifications unambiguously points out that for the purposes of availing the benefit of Notification by an SSI Unit, the clearances for home consumption only are to be taken into consideration, except in those cases where it is clearly provided otherwise. For this purpose, clearances bearing the brand name or trade name of third parties are concerned, they are kept outside the scheme inasmuch as: (a) they are not to be included for the purposes of determining the aggregate value of the clearances for home consumption; and (b) such products bearing brand names or trade names of third parties, even if manufactured by the SSI Unit, are not eligible for any exemption and excise duty thereupon has to be paid. Once we understand the scheme of the Notifications in the aforesaid perspective, which according to us is the only manner in which it has to be understood, it becomes apparent that so far as manufacture of branded goods of third party on job work basis by the SSI Unit is concerned, they are to be dealt with differently in the sense that they do not come within the ambit of exemption on which normally excise duty, as per the provisions of the Act, is payable.
As a sequitur, it also follows that once excise duty is paid by the manufacturer on such branded goods manufactured, the brand name whereof belongs to another person, on job work basis, the SSI Unit would be entitled to CENVAT/ MODVAT credit on the inputs which were used for manufacture of such goods as on those inputs also excise duty was paid. To put it otherwise, these branded goods manufactured by the SSI Units meant for third parties are regulated by the normal provisions of excise law and will have no bearing or relevance insofar as availing the benefit of those exemption notifications in respect of its own products manufactured by the SSI Units is concerned .
Admittedly, in respect of home production, the assessee had not availed the benefit of two options simultaneously as no CENVAT credit is claimed in respect of those goods. While doing so, the Tribunal has taken note of the judgment of this Court in Ramesh Food Products case and rightly analysed the same.
Supreme Court upheld the view of the Tribunal and dismissed the Revenue Appeals.
(See 2015-TIOL-261-SC-CX)
