TMI Blog1986 (5) TMI 137X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of iron and steel melting scrap with the aid of electric arc furnace and during the manufacture of the goods, runners and risers are also produced and these had been cleared by the respondents without payment of duty or at concession rate of duty in terms of notification No. 237/75 as amended and by notification No. 235/77, or by notification No. 156/79 and 53/80 as the case may be. The demand in respect of clearance of these runners and risers raised by the Department under the ground that benefit of the notification was available only in respect of ingots and not for clearance of runners and risers which have been described by the Department as steel melting scrap. These runners and risers are put to various uses after clearance. The De ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was demanded. The plea of time bar was also taken. In appeal they also cited the order of the Government of India passed in Revision No. 78/82 dated 27-1-1982 in the case of Century Iron and Steels Limited : 1982 E.L.T. 761. Pointed attention was drawn to para 4 of the said order in which the Government of India referred to another order passed-in-revision, have observed as under : In earlier order No. 114-115/75, in another case the Government had already held that when the ingots were exempted under notification No. 237/75, it would not be reasonable to deny the exemption to the steel melting scrap including runners and risers generated along with the ingots in process of its manufacture from old iron or steel melting scrap specifical ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... extended meaning to the word steel ingots nor it defined the term steel ingot , but only specifies that for the purpose of levy under the tariff steel ingots and steel melting scrap would be charged at the same rate. But this did not mean that for the purposes of the exemption under the notification, the same position obtains. She pleaded even though the word ingot has not been defined in the Tariff, as per ISI specification, ingots has been defined as under : Ingot - Castings of suitable shape and size intended for subsequent hot working. She pleaded that nowhere as has been averred before the Appellate Collector that the ingot is described as first solidification stage of iron and she pleaded that runners and risers are not ingot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... risers cleared outside the factory were required to be accounted for as ingots. He further pleaded as of now under the recast item 25, steel scrap has been defined as one which is fit only for melting. The runners and risers were intended for re-rolling, according to him and, therefore, qualify to be called ingots. He drew our attention to the instructions of Government of India, issued under their letter No. 139/29/73-CX 4, dated 29.11.79 reiterating the instructions issued earlier. These instructions were withdrawn only in 1983 and inasmuch as the period in respect of which the duty had been demanded pertains in point of time earlier to 1983, the benefit of the instructions in force earlier, would be available to them. He cited the follo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... led ingot. A mould for ingots showing the riser and runner was also shown in the Court. The runner and riser are channels in flow of the metal to the portion called ingot mould which is on atop the riser. Runners and riser were found to be narrow channels. No evidence was produced that runners and risers are of any predetermined size and devised for producing solidified material for any particular end use as is the case when ingot is produced. It is the ingot mould which yielded the solidified metal of a predetermined size for a particular end-use. No evidence has been produced to show that the runners and risers are accepted in the trade as the ingots for the same end use. The runners and riser are left-over material after ingot has been r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by the respondents including that of time bar. The respondents have pleaded that till instructions regarding treating steel melting scrap for the purpose at par with steel ingots, issued by the Ministry, were withdrawn, the benefit of the same should have been made available to the respondents inasmuch as the case arises during the periods when these instructions were in vogue. The instructions which were issued stood withdrawn before the Appellate decision was taken. No Trade Notices were brought to our notice whereby promise had been held out for the benefit of notification as claimed by respondents. The question of promissory estoppel therefore does not arise. Notwithstanding the fact that the Government of India had in the order cite ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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