SUPERINTENDENT OF CENTRAL EXCISE HEAD-QUARTERS PREVENTIVE BANGALORE-III AND Vs. KARNATAKA SOAPNUT POWDER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION REGISTERED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondents 1 to 5 in the writ petition filed this appeal assailing the judgment of the learned Single Judge disposing of the writ petition directing the release of the seized stock.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that the respondent 1 is the Kar-nataka Soapnut Powder manufacturers Association (Regd.), at Bangalore. Respondent 2 is Sree Ramakrishna Soapnut works, Mysore. The writ petition is filed praying to declare that the seizure of soapnut powder and the book of accounts pertaining to the respondent 2 as highhanded and without authority of law, and further seeking a direction to the appellants to forthwith release to the respondent 2, his seized articles and issue a writ in the nature of mandamus, commanding the appellants to forbear from insisting upon the respondents registering themselves obtaining any licence in respect of the processing of soapnut into soapnut powder, the marking thereof, and also directing them to forbear from insisting upon any return of the transactions in respect of the same being filed by them, etc. Certain quantity of shikakai along with soapnut powder produced by the 2nd respondent was seized by the appellants on the ground that the same is liable to levy of excise duty and that duty has not been paid by the manufacturer. Therefore, the writ petition is filed.

(3.) DURING the seizure the representative of the 2nd respondent has given a statement, under compulsion. The issue raised in the writ petition is as to whether the soapnut powder/shikakai powder is liable to excise duty under the Customs Tariff for the year 1994-95. He has averred that soapnut powder is manufactured by crushing the shikakai nuts collected from the forest. Their contention is shikakai and soapnut powder are the same. The annexures produced by the respondents disclose that the Government has declared that shikakai or soapnut powder do not come under the category of Item 15-D included in the Finance Act. It was contended by the department that the soapnut powder/shik-kakai powder would come within the ambit of the items "others" grouped as 3305. 99 and therefore is liable to excise duty.