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Regarding Clarification in respect of Notification No. 13/2000-CE dated
01.03.2000 Granting Exemption of Central Excise Duty to �Integrated Steel
Plant�
Central
Excise Circular No. 696 dated 26th February 2003
I
am directed to say that a doubt has arisen regarding the meaning of word
�Integrated Steel Plant� given in the explanation to the exemption
Notification No. 13/2000-CE dated 1.3.2000.
2.
The explanation states that to be designated as an �Integrated Steel
Plant� the manufacture should start from the stage of the ore in the plant
premises itself. The dispute now centres around the interpretation of the word
�ore�. Trade has represented that the raw ore is excavated through a mining
process and mines can never be a part of an integrated steel plant because of so
many reasons like, safety (ores have to be extracted through blasting) and
logistics. Therefore, the normal practice is that after mining, the ore is
cleaned and washed and physically transported to the integrated steel plant,
where the manufacturing process commences. However, field formation have taken
the view that after washing and cleaning, the product no longer remains
�ore� but becomes �ore concentrate� and as per heading 26.10, Ore and
Ore Concentrate are two different excisable commodities. Thus, since in this
case, the processing start from the stage of Ore Concentrate not ore. The
benefit of exemption would not available to them. The view of Integrated Steel
Plant is simply by washing and cleaning the iron ore, it does not lose its
identity as an Ore.
3.
To remove the confusion, it is clarified that the word �Ore� given in
the meaning of �Integrated Steel Plant� also includes �Ore Concentrate�
in the explanation to the said notification.
4.
Trade and field formations may be informed accordingly.
5.
Receipt of the same may please be acknowledged.
6.
Hindi version will follow.
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