Page 199 - ELT_1_1st April 2020_Vol 372_Part

2020 ] SHREE FLAVOURS LLP v. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, DELHI 85

consequence, a construction is required for its support, addition or substantive of
words or which results in rejection of the words as meaningless has to be avoid-
ed.
4. The Ld. AR on behalf of the Revenue supports the impugned order
and states that the appellant operating under the rules where there is no provi-
sions for refund of accumulated Cenvat credit at the time of closure of the factory
place reliance on the Rule 17 of the Rule.
5. We have heard the matter and considered the facts on record.
6. The issue involved in this case lies on a narrow compass as to
whether the appellant is entitled to claim the refund of unutilised Cenvat credit
lying in the balance at the time of closure of the factory for which due procedure
has been followed by the appellant by informing the department about such clo-
sure.
7. It is the argument of the Revenue that there is no provision for the
grant of Cenvat credit although agreeing that such credit remaining unutilised in
the PLA account is refundable. At the juncture, we would like to reproduce the
provisions of Rule 17 of the Rules which is as under :
“Rule 17. Factories ceasing to work. - Notwithstanding anything con-
tained in these rules, where a manufacturer permanently ceases to work in
respect of all the machines installed in the factory and who has filed an in-
timation for surrender of registration with the Deputy Commissioner of
Central Excise or the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case
may be, with a copy to the Superintendent of Central Excise, for this pur-
pose, the duty payable by him for the month in which he so ceases to work
permanently shall be calculated on the pro rata basis of the total number of
days in the said month and total number of days before the date of receipt
of said intimation with the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or the
Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, and the duty
paid for the month in accordance with the notification referred to in Rule 7
shall be adjusted towards the duty so calculated and on such adjustment, if
there is any excess payment, it shall be refunded to the manufacturer by the
20th day of the following month and deficiency, if any, shall be payable by
him by the 5th day of the following month.
Explanation. - For the purposes of this rule, “ceases to work” shall not in-
clude a manufacturer who ceases to operate his factory for one or two shifts
only.”
8. It was also impressed upon by the Revenue that as per the provisions
of Rule 16(7) of the Rules it is mentioned that “except as provided in this rule, no
other provisions of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 applied in relation to notified
goods.” But we find that the aforesaid interpretation by the Revenue is not ac-
ceptable in view of Rule 16, which is reproduced as under :
Rule 16. Cenvat credit admissible on chewing tobacco in bulk packs. -
(1) A manufacturer of chewing tobacco notified under Section 3A of the
Act shall be allowed to take credit (hereinafter referred to as the Cenvat
credit) of, -
(i) the duty of excise specified in the First Schedule to the Central Excise
Tariff Act, leviable under the Act;
(ii) the National Calamity Contingent duty leviable under Section 136 of
the Finance Act, 2001 (14 of 2001);
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