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TMI Blog1974 (7) TMI 57X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essrs 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 wafers do 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) or the Act. The petitioner, therefore, prays for a declaration that wafers are not covered by this 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 interpretation that in construing fiscal statutes and in determining the liabili ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation in the official Gazette, fix, for the purpose of levying the said duties, tariff value of any articles enumerated either specifically or under general hearings, 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 (1)(c) in the first Schedule. The Ist 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 manufactures such as J.B. Mangharam Co., Shalimar Biscuits and Parle Products. Another reason which prompted the first respondent to consider wafers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t is stated that the variety of products by the term biscuits has shown a marked increase since the beginning of the 20th Century, and 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 crackers, containing more and stronger gluten. In addition to the common white wheat flour, o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... India 1978 (2) E.L.T. (J836) (S.C.) = A.I.R. 1958 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 petitions. 5.Incidentally, after dictating this judgment I came across a tin of wafers manufactured by the petitioner who describes themselves as a "manufacturer of Wafer Biscuits". 6.Hence, these writ p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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