9911796707
TMI Blog1981 (12) TMI 42X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... articles from the payment of duty either wholly or in part. The Government of India issued notification No. 146/74-C.E., dated October 12, 1974, (hereafter the Notification) which reads as follows : "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, the Central Government hereby exempts sugar, described in column (2) of the Table below and falling under sub-item (1) of item No. 1 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944(1 of 1944) from so much of the duty of excise leviable thereon as is specified in the corresponding entry in columns (3) and (4) of the said Table. TABLE Sl. No. Description of sugar Duty of free sale sugar Exci ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Rs. 82 per quintal Rs. 22 per quintal Explanation. - In this notification- (a) 'Average production' in relation to sugar produced in the period by a factory which had gone into production for the first time in 1967-68 or earlier, means the simple average production during the corresponding period of the preceding five sugar years; (b) 'free sugar sale' means sugar other than levy sugar; (c) 'levy sugar' means sugar required by the Central Government to be sold under an order made under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (X of 1955). (d) 'Sugar year' means the period of 12 months beginning with the 1st day of October and ending with the 30th day of September next following. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has been producing sugar only for three years or less." 2. Subsequently, the Government of India issued a Corrigendum to this notification on July 14, 1975. The purpose of the corrigendum was to take away the second sentence in paragraph 3 of the said notification and read it as a separate paragraph, namely, paragraph 4 and renumber the existing paragraph 4 as paragraph 5. 3. The average annual (sugar year) production of sugar for five sugar years from 1969 to 1973-74 comes to 77229.40 quintals. The production of sugar in the petitioner's mill for the sugar year 1974-75 was 129400 quintals and during the period from 1st October, 1974 to November 30, 1974 was 4101 quintals. 4. The petitioner moved the authorities for rebate on the quan ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... corresponding period of the preceding five sugar years and further the overall production of the petitioner's mill for the entire sugar years 1974-75 exceeded the average production of the preceding five sugar year, the petitioner is entitled to rebate in terms of paragraph 1(b) of the Notification. 6. The learned counsel for the Union of India has argued that for determining the average production during the months of October and November of the preceding five sugar years (1969-70 to 1973-74) the sugar years in which the production was nil should be excluded in terms of paragraph No. 4 of the Notification. The argument proceeds that by doing so the average production during the months of October and November for the preceding five sugar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ugar (4104 quintals) produced during the period October 1, 1974 to November 30, 1974, in terms of paragraph 1(b) of the Notification. The contrary view taken by the Assistant Collector, the Appellate Collector and the Government of India in orders Annexures P. 3, P. 4 and P. 6 respectively cannot be sustained. 8. In the result, the orders of the Assistant Collector, the Appellate Collector and the Government of India Annexures P. 3, P. 4 and P. 6 are quashed. The authorities are directed to grant rebate to the petitioner to the extent of the quantum of sugar produced in the petitioner's mill during the period October 1, 1974 to November 30, 1974, in terms of paragraph 1(b) of the Notification. No order as to costs. - - TaxTMI - TMI ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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