In Brief
A textile trader obtained goods manufactured through multiple job workers and claimed exemption from excise duty, arguing liability rested only on individual job workers whose clearances did not exceed the exemption limit. The Supreme Court held that under Rule 12B, the trader is treated as a single assessee liable on the aggregate value of all clearances from all job workers. Once aggregate clearances exceed the prescribed limit (Rs.25-35 lakhs), duty is payable on the entire aggregate. The Court rejected attempts to circumvent the limit by distributing clearances among multiple job workers, holding that the statutory emphasis on 'aggregate value' cannot be diluted.
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