JUDGMENT

Thomas, J.-The common question involved in all these appeals is whether the benefit of excise duty exemption (granted by the Central Government as per certain notifications) can be claimed in respect of commodities made out of raw materials on which no excise duty was payable. The relevant notifications exempted such commodities from excise duty under the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 (for short "the Act"), if they were produced from materials on which the appropriate amount of duty of excise has already been paid. As the Central Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (for short the Tribunal) by different orders upheld such claims made by certain manufacturers the Revenue has filed these appeals through the Collectors of Central Excise concerned.

2. Avoiding proliferation with facts in different appeals we think it is enough to reproduce the facts in Civil Appeal No. 2319 of 1989 filed by the Collector of Excise, Patna against the respondent M/s Usha Martin Industries Ltd.

3. Respondent in that case manufactures wire-rods (which fall under Tariff Item 26AA (1a) of the Central Excise Tariff). For manufacturing such wire-rods the raw materials used were steel products