Case: M/s. Jayaswal Neco Ltd Vs. Commnr. of Central Excise, Raipur

The appellant is engaged in the manufacture of pig iron falling under Chapter 72 of the Schedule to Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. The appellant is availing MODVAT credit on various capital goods and parts thereof under Rule 57Q of the Rules. The respondent-authority had issued two show cause notices thereby proposing to deny the appellant the MODVAT credit availed by them under Rule 57Q on the following items: -S. No.Items on which credit deniedCredit Amount(Rs.)(a)Pipes & fittings used outside the plant for bringing water from river Kharoon15,83,738(b)Railway track material used for handling raw materials, process goods16,59,987(c)HDPE Tarpaulin used to avoid leakage of water from water reservoir6,18,943(d)Loudspeaker used to pass on instructions to operate various equipment due to distance27,336Total creditCommissioner was of the view that the aforesaid goods were not covered within the definition ofer Rule 57Q of the Rules. After giving opportunity to the appellants to file reply to the said show cause notices and hearing the appellants, the Commissioner passed the orders dated 30.10.2001. By the said order, the demand in respect of certain capital goods was dropped. At the same time, the MODVAT credit on the aforesaid four items was denied by the Commissioner. The appellants filed appeal against the said order before the CEGAT and the CEGAT has affirmed the order of the Commissioner thereby dismissing the appeal of the appellant.In the present appeal preferred by the appellants against the order of the CEGAT, the relief is confined to item (b) above alone, namely, in respect of railway track material used for handling raw materials, processed goods for which credit for sum of Rs. 16,59,987/- was claimed and was earlier allowed but reversed by the Commissioner. The question is as to whether the said item can be treated aser Rule 57Q of the Rules which was holding the field at the relevant time.

Court's reasoning:
In the instant case, the manner in which railway track materials have been used by the appellant was explained by the appellant before the Commissioner and veracity thereof was accepted by the Commissioner. Therefore, without any fear of contradiction, we may note the exact process that israilway tracks used in transporting hot metal in ladle placed on ladle car from blast furnace to pig casting machine through ladle car where hot metal is poured into pig casting machine for manufacture of pig iron. Secondly the system also helps in taking hot pigs from pig casting machine to pigs storage yard by the big wagon where hot pig iron are dumped for cooling and making ready for dispatchers. This Railway tracks are also used in handling of raw materials at wagon tippler to stacker reclaimer where stacking and reclaiming of raw material is taken place and required quantity is conveyed for further processing at stockreflects that the appellant has installed railway tracks within the plant which is a handling system for raw material and processed material.The aforesaid process squarely meets the test laid down by this court in M/s. J. K. Cotton Spinning & Weaving Mills Co. Ltd.s case. It is clear that the railway tracks are installed not only within the plant, but the main objective and purpose for which the capital expenditure on laying these railway tracks is incurred by the appellant is for transporting hot metal in ladle placed on ladle car from blast furnace to pig casting machine through ladle car where hot metal is poured into pig casting machine for manufacture of pig iron. It is clear from the above that the use of railway tracks inside the plant not only form the process of manufacturing, but it is inseparable and integral part of the said process inasmuch as without the aforesaid activity for which railway tracks are used, there cannot be manufacturing of pig iron.We find from the order of the Commissioner that in spite of taking note of the aforesaid use of the railway tracks and accepting the same as correct, the Commissioner denied the relief to the appellant on an extraneous ground, i.e., railway tracks were used for other purposes as well, namely, apart from conveying hot metal and hot pigs, it was used for carrying raw materials and finished goods as well. This can hardly be a ground to deny the relief inasmuch as by incidental use of the railway tracks for some other innocuous purpose, it does not lose the character of being an integral part of the manufacturing process. The Commissioner has further observed in his order that the railway track is not utilised directly or indirectly for producing or processing of goods or bringing about any change for manufacture of final product. This conclusion, obviously, is completely erroneous and amounts to misreading of the process. Such an error has occurred because the Commissioner did not keep in mind the principle of law laid down by this Court in M/s. J. K. Cotton Spinning & Weaving Mills Co. Ltd.s case, highlighted above.When we read the order of the CEGAT, we find that CEGAT has not even adverted to and examined the issue from the aforesaid angle, which was the only method for arriving at a finding as to whether the railway tracks installed within the plant would come within the definition of capital goods under Rule 57Q of the Rules or not. The order of the CEGAT is stoically silent. It has affirmed the order of the Commissioner by simply observing that the Commissioner has arrived at the conclusion that these goods are not being used directly or indirectly for producing or processing the goods or for bringing about any change for the manufacture of the final product. We have already pointed out that the aforesaid conclusion of the Commissioner is not only factually incorrect and perverse but legally unsustainable asis clear from the reading of the definition of capital goods that when machines, machinery, plants, equipment, etc., are used for producing or processing any good or bringing about any change in any substance for the manufacture of final product, it would qualify as capital goods and MODVAT credit thereon would bethe court was concerned with the construction of Section 8(3)(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and Rule 13 framed under the said Act, the expressionthe manufacture or processing of goods forappearing in Section 8(3)(b) came up for interpretation. Section 8(3(b) authorises the Sales Tax Officer to specify goods intended for use by the dealer inthe manufacture or processing of goods forsale or in mining, or in the generation or distribution of electricity or any other form of power. Rule 13 provides that such goods must be intended for use inthe manufacture or processing of goods forsale or in mining or generation or distribution ofthe instant case, the manner in which railway track materials have been used by the appellant was explained by the appellant before the Commissioner and veracity thereof was accepted by theaforesaid process squarely meets the test laid down by this court in M/s. J. K. Cotton Spinning & Weaving Mills Co. Ltd.s case. It is clear that the railway tracks are installed not only within the plant, but the main objective and purpose for which the capital expenditure on laying these railway tracks is incurred by the appellant is for transporting hot metal in ladle placed on ladle car from blast furnace to pig casting machine through ladle car where hot metal is poured into pig casting machine for manufacture of pig iron. It is clear from the above that the use of railway tracks inside the plant not only form the process of manufacturing, but it is inseparable and integral part of the said process inasmuch as without the aforesaid activity for which railway tracks are used, there cannot be manufacturing of pig iron.We find from the order of the Commissioner that in spite of taking note of the aforesaid use of the railway tracks and accepting the same as correct, the Commissioner denied the relief to the appellant on an extraneous ground, i.e., railway tracks were used for other purposes as well, namely, apart from conveying hot metal and hot pigs, it was used for carrying raw materials and finished goods as well. This can hardly be a ground to deny the relief inasmuch as by incidental use of the railway tracks for some other innocuous purpose, it does not lose the character of being an integral part of the manufacturing process. The Commissioner has further observed in his order that the railway track is not utilised directly or indirectly for producing or processing of goods or bringing about any change for manufacture of final product. This conclusion, obviously, is completely erroneous and amounts to misreading of the process. Such an error has occurred because the Commissioner did not keep in mind the principle of law laid down by this Court in M/s. J. K. Cotton Spinning & Weaving Mills Co. Ltd.s case, highlighted above.When we read the order of the CEGAT, we find that CEGAT has not even adverted to and examined the issue from the aforesaid angle, which was the only method for arriving at a finding as to whether the railway tracks installed within the plant would come within the definition of capital goods under Rule 57Q of the Rules or not. The order of the CEGAT is stoically silent. It has affirmed the order of the Commissioner by simply observing that the Commissioner has arrived at the conclusion that these goods are not being used directly or indirectly for producing or processing the goods or for bringing about any change for the manufacture of the final product. We have already pointed out that the aforesaid conclusion of the Commissioner is not only factually incorrect and perverse but legally unsustainable as