9911796707
TMI Blog2000 (11) TMI 451X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oducts were not marketable and therefore the products were not excisable. Ld. Collector had also held the demand of duty to be time-barred. The Revenue, in the present appeal, challenges the decision of ld. Collector on the grounds that, in view of Chapter Note 1(a) of Chapter 29 of the Central Excise Tariff, Calcium Citrate was an excisable commodity and that innoculum media when prepared from micro-organisms preserved at sub-zero temperatures [either in freezers or in liquid nitrogen] had an extended shelf life and hence could be marketed. The appellants have also submitted that the extended period of limitation under the proviso to Section 11A(1) was rightly invoked by the Department in the SCN issued to the party inasmuch as the fact th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f ld. Collector to have accepted the assessee's contention that Innoculum Media and Calcium Citrate emerging at intermediate stages of manufacture of Citric Acid had no shelf-life. The ground for this objection is that the adjudicating authority relied on the Chemical Examiner's test report relating to samples drawn from the factory of some other manufacturer and not relating to any sample drawn from the present respondents' factory. Ld. SDR further submitted that the respondents' plea of 'no shelf-life' was irrelevant in view of Chapter Note 1(a) of Chapter 29 of the Central Excise Tariff, which laid down that the Headings of the said Chapter were applicable to separate chemically defined organic compounds, whether or not containing impuri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e same is covered by Tariff Sub-Heading 2918.00. Chapter Note 1(a) of Chapter 29 clearly lays down that the Headings of this Chapter apply to separate chemically defined organic compounds, whether or not containing impurities. Calcium citrate is a separate chemically defined and stable organic compound as rightly pointed out by ld. SDR. The finding of ld. Collector that it has no shelf-life is chemically untenable. Apart from this, such a finding is also not supported by any evidence. We have gone through the respondents' letter dated 13-9-1993 referred to by ld. DR, wherein the respondents stated with regard to Calcium citrate as follows :- It has also no shelf-life, being required to be decomposed within a short time. The above stat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ul for removing Gastric Antacids and also as a digestant. 5. Calcium Citrate is also found useful for many other pharmaceutical formulations such as Calcium Amphomycin ointments (Ref. Chemical Abstracts - Volume 53 of 1959), as a prenatal product giving Calcium Source (The Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology - Kirk Orthmer - III Edition - Volume No. 6 - Page 178) and many other applications. 6. Calcium Citrate in its pure marketable form is treated as Bulk drug under U.S. Pharmacopoea. 7. The Calcium Citrate is also accepted as a drug by Food and Drugs Administration of Maharashtra State. The above account of the various uses of Calcium citrate by itself shows that the chemical in impure form (like the sample emerging as inter ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... diate product and was being consumed captively for the manufacture of Citric Acid in their factory. They did not disclose the fact in their Classification Lists filed from time to time. There is no effective rebuttal of this allegation, by the respondents in their reply to the SCN. In the circumstances, we hold that the extended period of limitation was rightly invoked by the Department while issuing the SCN. 7. In the light of the above findings, we set aside the impugned order in so far as the decision of this adjudicating authority on the question of excisability of Calcium citrate and on limitation is concerned. Ld. Collector's decision on the excisability of Innoculum Media is upheld. The demand of duty raised on Calcium Citrate is c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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