(1.) THE appellant is engaged in manufacture of P&P medicines and they had paid duty on their product Jensheng/Ginsec 400/500 at Nil rate of duty upto February 1994 and thereafter at 10%. The lower authority has held that the goods were leviable to duty at 15% throughout the period from April 1992 to March 1995 and on that basis, a show cause notice was issued on 25 -4 -97 and duty demand of Rs. 33,60,628/ - has been confirmed against the appellant. Further, penalty equal to the duty under Rule 173Q of Central Excise Rules, 1944 has also been imposed.
(2.) LEARNED advocate for the appellant submitted that the product was manufactured under licence issued for Ayurvedic medicines and there is no dispute that Ginsec was ayurvedic drug. The departments case is that by putting Ginsec in gelatine capsule, the appellant can be said to have used other ingredients and therefore the medicament cannot be considered as an ayurvedic medicine. It was also contended that the demand was totally time barred.
(3.) ON the other hand, the learned SDR submitted that since Ginsec powder is put in gelatine capsule, the medicament cannot be called ayurvedic medicine and therefore has to be classified under CETH 3003.10. Further, he also submits that the appellant had never filed classification list after 1991 and the Commissioner (Appeals) found that the classification list copy produced by the appellant was also not proper photo -copy.