(1.) The stay application, early hearing petition and also the main appeal itself are taken up as the issue has already been decided by this Bench in favour of the assessee and against the revenue. Therefore, we waive the predeposit by granting early hearing and proceed to decide the issue as per law. This appeal is directed against the Order -in -Appeal No. 123 to 129/2001 -TRY (Cus.) (PNV), dated 31 -12 -2001, by which the Commissioner (Appeals) has held that the machines under import could not be considered as goods required for the manufacture of garments and denied them the exemption under notification No. 29/97.
(2.) The appellants appearing through ld. Advocate Ms. Prameela Viswanathah, have submitted that they are entitled for the exemption under Notification No. 29/97, dated 1 -4 -1997. The ground on which both the lower authorities have rejected their appeals is that the lower authority has held that the knitting machine imported by them can produce only unprocessed knitted fabric, which does not find direct use in the manufacture of textile garments. She further submitted that both the lower authorities have been carried away by the presumption that a machine imported should directly produce the garments or a processed fabric for use in garments. In fact goods coming out of knitting machine is only a fabric, which is to be subjected to further processes for making it as a garment. She further invited our attention in the judgment rendered by this Bench in the case of Premina Exports and 24 others vide Final Order Nos. 1043 to 1067/02, dated 17 -9 -2002 [2002 (148) E.L.T. 1065 (T)], in which the Bench has allowed the appeal of the as -sessee and has decided the case against the revenue by following the judgment rendered by the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata in the case of Rupa and Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata reported in 2002 (143) E.L.T. 562 (T) = 2002 (81) ECC 520 (T) and Ruia Cotex Ltd. v. CC (Air Cargo), NCH, New Delhi, reported in 2002 (103) ECR 925 (T). She further submitted that the goods namely knitted garments are meant only for export as per the scheme in EPCG. She, therefore, submitted that in the light of the issue having already been decided by this Bench as well as by Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata in the cases mentioned above, the appeal filed by them is required to be allowed.
(3.) Ld. SDR, Shri S.K. Menon has perused the judgments rendered by this Bench in the case of Premina Exports and 24 others vide Final Order Nos. 1043 to 1067/02, dated 17 -9 -2002 and the judgments rendered by the Kolkata Bench in the case of Rupa and Co. Ltd. v. CC, Kolkata (supra) and Ruia Cotex Ltd. v. CC (Air Cargo), NCH, New Delhi (supra), has left the matter to the discretion of the Bench.