TALAYAR TEA CO. Vs. COLLECTOR OF CENTRAL EXCISE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the instance of an assessee the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, South Regional Bench at Madras (in short, the Tribunal) has referred the following three questions of law for the decision of this Court:

(2.) THE respondent is the Revenue. The assessee is admittedly entitled to partial exemption from payment of excise duty in terms of Government Notification No. 198/76 -C.E., dated 16 -6 -1976. The base period therefore, in the case of the assessee, who is a tea manufacturer, was fixed as 1975 -76. The assessee -company had cleared 6,22,134 Kgs. of tea during the year 1978 -79 and the excess over the base clearance was 70,039 Kgs. The period during which the clearance exceeded the base clearance was from 9 -2 -1979 to 31 -3 -1979. Under the terms of Notification No. 198/76 dated 16 -6 -1976 the appellant was entitled to refund of 25% of the excise duty paid on the above excess over the base clearance of 73,039 Kgs., which amounted to a sum of Rs. 11,503.64.

(3.) ON hearing the rival contentions of the parties, we are of the view that the assessee should succeed. Before evaluating the rival pleas, put forward before us by the parties, we should remind ourselves of the observations of the Supreme Court, contained in Madras Port Trust case [1979 (4) SCC 176]. The Court said :