9911796707
TMI Blog1987 (7) TMI 122X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the respondent No. 4 Superintendent of Customs & Central Excise, Range, Pithampur at Mhow asked the petitioner to fill in an application for Central Excise licence on the allotted tariff headings. The petitioner, therefore, in good faith, filled in the same and a licence was issued by the respondent No. 4 to the petitioner for the manufacture of excisable goods. Thereafter, a letter was issued to the petitioner by the respondent No. 4, asking the petitioner to open a Bank Account on two heads viz. (1) Basic Excise Duty A/c and (2) Cess Account. The respondent No. 4 along with the said letter also enclosed form Annexure-1 which pertains to classification. Thereafter, the respondent No. 4 compelled the petitioner to pay the basic excise dut ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1 to 4 have denied this allegation that the Superintendent, Customs and Central Excise directed the petitioner to file any application for the Central Excise license on allotted tariff headings. In fact the petitioner himself filed the applications and after considering the application, license in Form L-4 was issued to the petitioner on 6-5-1987. Similarly it has been stated, that on the request of the petitioner permission was granted to the petitioner to open Personal Ledger Account for basic excise duty as well as for automobile cess. It has also been denied that the petitioner was made to open the accounts under a threat. The amount of duty recovered from the petitioner has been voluntarily paid by the petitioner for removal of excisa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tariff Headings 87.02 and 87.04 the said exemption is not available to the petitioner on his products falling under the said headings. It has again been reiterated that the products of the petitioner fall under Heading Nos. 87.02 and 87.04 respectively because the final product is buses and trucks and, therefore, the benefit of the Notification No. 175/86 was rightly not extended to the petitioner. Although the petitioner is engaged in body building activities of converting a chassis into a bus or truck, but for the purposes of levy and collection of excise duty he is to be regarded as manufacturer of bus and truck. Therefore, the action on the part of the Revenue Authorities cannot be declared as unreasonable or contrary to law. Similarly, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... her for passenger or goods transport from the basic excise duty up to the limit of Rs. 15 lacs on their first clearance of manufacturing goods like the petitioners. 4. On the other hand, the learned Counsel for the Revenue Shri E.G. Neema states that the classification has been done by the officers on the basis of the classification list filed by the petitioner himself. 5. In view of the aforesaid submissions the only point involved for consideration is whether the body building on duty paid chassis of motor vehicles is exempt from duty. It is not disputed before us that the petitioner is only a manufacturer of bodies on the chassis of motor vehicles for using them as passenger buses or trucks. A perusal of the Central Excise Tariff Act, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be falling within either Entry 87.02 or Entry 87.04. The manufacture by the petitioner squarely falls within Entry 87.07 of the tariff. Now in view of the Notification No. 175-C.E. of 1986, dated 1-3-1986 the petitioner is entitled to get the benefit of that notification in view of the fact that the manufacture of the bodies by the petitioner falls within the Tariff Heading 87.07. Therefore, if the petitioner fulfills the condition of the other part of the notification i.e. the monetary limit pertaining to the manufacturing activity, then the recovery of tax from the petitioner after the Notification No. 175-C.E., dated 1-3-1986 is without jurisdiction. 6. It has not been disputed before us that the petitioner does not fall within the cat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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