Turnkey Assembly Not ‘Manufacture’ as No Excisable Goods Emerge at Site: CESTAT Bangalore

Larsen & Toubro (ECC Division) Vs Commissioner of Central Excise (CESTAT Bangalore) The CESTAT Bangalore adjudicated appeals arising from an Order-in-Original dated 31.05.2012, which had confirmed central excise duty demand, interest, and penalties against the appellant on the ground that its activities amounted to manufacture. The Tribunal examined two key issues: whether the activities undertaken constituted “manufacture” under the Central Excise Act, 1944, and whether invocation of the extended period of limitation was justified. The appellant was engaged in execution of a Rural Loa...