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TMI Blog2000 (3) TMI 73X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e up before a Bench of two Members, that Bench referred the issue to a larger Bench on account of conflicting decisions of Allahabad High Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court relating to rice bran oil. 2. Before dealing with the issue in detail, it is worthwhile to consider the various enactments that imposed cess on produce obtained in India. The first Act by which cess was imposed is the Produce Cess Act, 1966. Section 3(2) of that Act provided that there shall be levied and collected as cess on every produce specified in column 2 of the Second Schedule, a duty of excise at the rate notified by the Central Govt. in the Official Gazette. Section 4 of that Act, inter alia, cast liability to pay cess on the occupier of the mill in which suc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a Board to be called the Coconut Development Board. In order to ensure that the said Board has the necessary resources to discharge its functions, the Bill seeks to provide for the imposition of a cess on copra. At present the cess on copra is being levied under the Produce Cess Act, 1966 (15 of 1966) at the rate of 60 paise per quintal. The Bill empowers the Central Government to levy cess on copra at a maximum rate of Rs. 5 per quintal. In view of this provision, copra is being excluded from the Second Schedule to the Produce Cess Act, 1966 by suitably amending the Act. The intention is to make over, after due appropriation by Parliament, by law, such amount as the Central Government may d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such vegetable oil which has been subjected to any processing subsequent to the recovery of oil." The learned representative of the department, arguing the case on behalf of the Revenue, submitted that even though the first part of the definition of vegetable oil will not take in coconut oil because of the definition of the word "oilseed" in clause (f), second part will squarely apply to coconut oil. This argument is on the basis that coconut oil is extracted from material of plant origin. It also contains glycerides, and coconut oil is not subjected to any processing subsequent to the recovery of it from copra. Therefore, coconut oil, it is argued, squarely falls within the definition of vegetable oil in Section 2(h) of the National Oil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts. While defining vegetable oils, oil produced from oilseeds as defined in that Act alone is taken in. But if the definition is stretched and coconut oil is brought under the second limb of the definition as being of plant origin, the very object and purpose of the provisions contained in Coconut Development Board Act, 1979 and Copra Cess Act, 1979 will be defeated. The provisions of 1979 Act are specifically concerned with coconut and copra. The general provisions contained in the 1983 Act cannot be construed in a manner nullifying these special enactments. Parliament was aware of the provisions contained in the 1979 enactments when they were enacting the 1983 Acts. No provision was incorporated in the subsequent Acts to take within thei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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