In Brief
Bajaj Auto challenged a show cause notice demanding payment of National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD), Education Cess, and Secondary & Higher Education Cess on its manufacturing unit. The unit had been granted exemption from Central Excise Duty under an exemption notification for ten years from commercial production. The Supreme Court held that an exemption from "the whole of the duty of excise or additional duty of excise" covers NCCD and all cesses. The Court allowed the appeal, quashed the notice, and held that Bajaj Auto is not liable to pay these duties, emphasizing that exemption notifications must receive liberal interpretation consistent with their language and intent."
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