Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Mumbai
Hindustan Petroleum Corpn. Ltd. vs Cce on 9 July, 1999
Equivalent citations: 1999(85)ECR625(TRI.-MUMBAI)
ORDER Gowri Shankar, Member (T)
1. Appeal taken up for disposal with consent after waiving deposit.
2. The appellant is a public sector undertaking with the Government of India engaged in the refining of crude oil, manufacture of lubricating oil and marketing such products. In the course of these operations, it received in its bonded tanks at Mazgaon and Sewri, without payment of duty consignments of lubricating oils base stock by pipeline without payment of duty from its petroleum refinery at Mahul. Applicant cleared stocks of such oil from its tanks on payment of duty and took them into its factory for use in the manufacture of blended lubricating oil. The duty was paid by means of a document referred to as outturn certificate. Applicant took modvat credit of the duty so paid and utilized such product (sic) towards payment of duty on its finished product. In the common orders impugned in these appeals, the Commissioner has held that the outturn certificate was not a valid document under Rule 57A (sic) for the reason that it did not contain all the particulars specified in Rule 52A and disallowed the credit.
3. Sub-rule (3) of Rule 57G provides that no credit under Sub-rule 2 shall be taken unless the inputs are received by the factory under cover of any one of the 13 documents prescribed therein. One of these is an invoice issued by a manufacturer under Rule 52A of the rules (we are not concerned with the other documents specified under Rule 57G). Rule 52A provides that no excisable goods shall be delivered from a factory or warehouse except under an invoice signed by the owner of the factory, or his authorised agent. The explanation of Sub-Rule 52A(1) explains the terms invoice or gate pass as meaning the assessee's own document such as invoice, challan, advance or other document of similar nature had been used in the sale or removal of excisable goods which shall contain all the particulars as required under the act or in the rules or such other form as the Board may prescribe. It is the appellant's contention that the outturn reports is prescribed by Central Board of Excise and Customs. The Supplement to the Manual of Departmental Instruction on Excisable Manufactured Products relating to petroleum product published under the authority of the Board, provides for the outturn statement to be utilized for the payment of duty of clearance of indigenous oil. Page 146 of this manual deals in paragraph 147 with unified Central Excise control on bulk oil. Sub-paragraph 4 of this paragraph deals with receipt of non-duty paid oils. Clause 2 of this sub-paragraph referring to delivery under page 150 provides as follows:
In respect of each duty paid clearance of indigenous oils, the oil corporations will prepare an out-turn statement, in quadruplicate, indicating the reference to the particular receipt of oil to which the delivery is being related to the PLA No. and the name and particulars of the consignee to whom the oil is being supplied. On completion of delivery, the oil corporation will determine the quantity of Oil (at 15°C) delivered from the dip measurements taken by them and record the same in the out-turn statement. The oil company will thereafter determine the duty liability on the quantity of oil so delivered and raise a debit in the relevant PLA and endorse the out-turn statement with the particulars relating to this debit. The oil corporation will forward to the Superintendent, incharge of the range, the duplicate copy of the out-turn statement, complete in all respects, together with dip memos, at the time they file the R.T. 12 statements.
The proforma of outturn document is prescribed in paragraph 155 of this manual. It is clear that for purpose of payment of duty and the oil cleared from the tank for removal to the factory, the outturn statement is a valid document prescribed by the Board.
4. Sub-rule (1) of 52A provides that no excisable goods shall be delivered to factory except under an invoice signed by the owner of the factory or authorized person. The Explanation to that rule provides that in the rule, and in any other rule where the term invoice or gate pass is used it shall mean the assessee's own document such as invoice, challan etc. generally used for sale or removal of excisable goods and it shall contain all the particulars required under the act or the board, such other rule Central Excise and Customs may notify. The outturn under consideration is a form that has been specified by the Board for removal of goods from bonded tanks for the factory. It is therefore an invoice within the meaning of Rule 52A(1). The requirement as to the particulars to be embodied in an invoice is contained in the Explanation Rule 52A(1) with regard to the assessee's own document. Such a requirement is not provided for in the case of other documents notified by the board. This is obviously for the reason that, before notifying such a document, the board would have satisfied itself that it contained all the particulars.
5. The Commissioner has not disputed that the outturn is duty paying document. He has denied credit on the ground that it did not contain the required particulars. The term invoice appearing in Rule 57G would, again by the virtue of Explanation to Rule 52A include not only the commercial invoice issued by the assessee, but a document notified by the board. This includes the outturn report. So long as that report is prescribed by the Board as a document to cover clearance from the bonded tank to the factory, it would be an invoice for the purpose of Rule 52A and 57G; and credit has rightly been taken on this document.
6. Appeal allowed. Impugned order set aside. Consequential relief.
(Dictated in Court).