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TMI Blog1974 (7) TMI 118X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rietor of a concern known as Messrs International Foods. The firm is engaged in the manufacture of wafers and cones. The first respondent levied excise duty on the wafers manufactured by the petitioner under the Act. 2. It is the case of the petitioner that wafer does not come within the category of biscuits and, therefore, they are not liable for assessment of duty as they are not excisable goods as defined under Sec. 2(d) of the Act. The petitioner, therefore, prays for a declaration that wafers are not covered by the expression "excisable goods" and hence are not chargeable to duty. 3. Mr. V. Jagannadha Rao, in support of his contention that wafers are not biscuits first reminds me of the established principle of interpretati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (2) of Section 3 provides that the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette fix, for the purpose of levying the said duties, tariff values of any articles enumerated either specifically or under general headings, in the First Schedule as Chargeable with duty ad valorem and may alter any tariff values for the time being in force. In furtherance of this Section, biscuits were included as item l(c) in the First Schedule. The 1st respondent in his counter has stated that he has considered wafers as biscuits because wafers are known as biscuits in the market and it is common experience to find wafers packed in fancy tin boxes by well known manufacturers such as J.B. Manghram & Co., Shalimar Biscuits and Parle Products. Ano ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e wafers in the category of biscuits. In Encyclopedia Britannica, 1953 Education, it is stated that the variety of products by the term biscuits has shown a marked increase since the beginning of the 20th Century, and the products of a large modern biscuit bakery include a great number of specialized varieties of which the composition and methods of manufacture differ widely and that in the United States among the most popular varieties are also sugar and other wafers". The ingredients used in biscuits are numerous and of these wheat flour is the most important. The type of flour used depends upon the kind of biscuit to be produced and varies. from a very soft flour, used in the more tender cookies, to "stronger" flours, used in soda cracke ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upport of his contention he cites a ruling in S.B Sugar Mills v. Union of India (AIR 1968 S.C. 922) where it was held that as the Act does not define goods the legislature must be taken to have used that word in its ordinary dictionary meaning. The dictionary meaning is that to become goods it must be something which can ordinarily come to the market to be bought and sold and is known to the market. Thus, I am of the opinion that wafer is a kind of biscuit and as such is liable to excise duty. Therefore the action taken by the first respondent cannot be quashed in these writ petition. 5. Incidently, after dictating this judgment I can across a tin of wafers manufactured by the petitioner who describe themselves as a "manufactures of W ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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