Rule 16 Does Not Require Return Of Remade Goods To Original Buyer To Avail CENVAT Credit: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 3 June held that CENVAT credit on duty-paid goods returned to a factory cannot be denied merely because the re-manufactured machine was supplied to a different customer and not to the buyer who had originally returned the goods. A Single Member Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati allowed the appeal filed by Grafica Flextronica and set aside a demand of Rs. 23.40 lakh along with interest...

CESTAT New Delhi Allows CENVAT Credit On Ore Crushing Services Used In Manufacturing Process

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi on 5 June 2026 held that services used for crushing mined iron ore and removing unwanted material before the ore reaches the factory qualify as “input services” for CENVAT credit, as they directly connect with the manufacturing process. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. V. Subba Rao allowed the appeal filed by Godawari Power & Ispat Ltd. and set aside the demand, interest,...

Supreme Court Holds Appeals On Excisability Of Goods Lie Before It, Not High Courts

The Supreme Court has recently held that disputes over whether goods are excisable fall within the exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and cannot be decided by High Courts.Setting aside a Karnataka High Court judgment, the Court observed, "The provisions of Sections 35G and Section 35L, read together, always pointed to one and only one conclusion: that the question of excisability fell within the exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court." A Bench of Justice J.B....

New Delhi CESTAT Bars Reclassification Of Product To Zarda After Years Of Acceptance As Chewing Tobacco

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 2 June held that the Department cannot reclassify a product after consistently accepting its classification for several years through departmental orders, and consequently set aside an excise duty demand arising from such reclassification. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya allowed appeals filed by Rajasthan-based manufacturer Rajan Jhiriwal and its partners, and set...

CESTAT New Delhi Rejects CENVAT Credit Denial For Invoice Defects, Allows Jayaswal NECO Appeal

On 2 June, the New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that authorities cannot deny CENVAT credit merely on the basis of procedural defects in invoices when the recipient has actually received and used the services in its business operations. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya allowed the appeal filed by Jayaswal NECO Industries Ltd. and set aside the denial of CENVAT credit of Rs. 53.94 lakh. The Tribunal also...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside Order Treating Post-August 1995 Paper Products Transfers As Inter-State Sales

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has held that paper products transferred by Shree Karthik Papers Ltd. to agents in Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and West Bengal after August 1, 1995 were consignment sales and not inter-State sales. The tribunal set aside a Tamil Nadu Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal order that had restored assessment on a turnover of ₹1.51 crore by treating the transactions as inter-State sales. A bench of President...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside ₹22.59 Lakh CENVAT Credit Demand Against Honda Motorcycle Over Manufacturing Waste, Scrap

The tribunal held that waste and scrap arising during manufacture are neither manufactured goods nor by-products, and therefore do not attract proportionate reversal of CENVAT credit under Rule 6(1)

CESTAT Chandigarh Holds 'Input Service' Has Wide Scope Under Cenvat Rules, Allows Hero MotoCorp Appeals

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 26 May held that the definition of “input service” under Rule 2(l) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 has a wide ambit and includes services having even an indirect nexus with manufacturing or business activities. Judicial Member S.S. Garg and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar allowed a batch of appeals filed by Hero MotoCorp Ltd (formerly Hero Honda Motors Ltd) and set aside the demand raised by the...

Proportionate CENVAT Credit Reversal Equals Non-Availment; CESTAT Delhi Quashes Demand Against Hindustan Zinc

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has set aside a more than ₹7.18 crore demand, along with interest and penalties, raised against Hindustan Zinc Limited over electricity wheeled out from its captive power plant to sister concerns and the state distribution utility. A coram of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar held that the reversal of proportionate CENVAT credit attributable to such electricity...

No Excise Duty On Export Unit's Domestic Sale Of Marble Slabs Cut From Imported Blocks Pre-2006: CESTAT Delhi

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) in New Delhi has recently held that no central excise duty could be levied on the domestic sale of marble slabs and tiles by Abhishek Exporters, a 100% export-oriented unit, after finding that cutting imported marble blocks into such products during 2002 to August 2005 did not amount to manufacture. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan partly allowed appeals filed by...

Delhi HC Upholds DGCEI Officers' Discharge In Custodial Torture Case, Rejects CCTV Evidence

On 22 May, the Delhi High Court upheld the discharge of officers of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) who were accused of illegally detaining, kidnapping and torturing a businessman during a central excise investigation. A Bench of Justice Amit Mahajan held that the CCTV footage relied upon by the complainant was not admissible because it did not have the required certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and dismissed the revision petitions...

CESTAT Allahabad Holds Department Must Prove RMC Manufacture Before Levying Excise Duty On Concrete Mix

The Allahabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 14 May held that concrete mix manufactured and consumed at construction sites for residential projects qualifies for exemption from central excise duty and cannot be classified as “Ready Mix Concrete” (RMC) without technical evidence establishing the characteristics of RMC manufacturing. Judicial Member P.K. Choudhary and Technical Member Rajeev Tandon held that the Department failed to prove that...