K THANGAVEL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above writ petitions have been tiled for the issue of writs of Declaration declaring that the levy of excise duty and the compliance of excise duty procedure and formalities cited in Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, as illegal in respect of the petitioners.

(2.) THE petitioners in their respective affidavit state that they are engaged in the business of building bodies of lorries, bus or tankers as per the requirements of their customers on the chassis supplied by such customers. It is the claim of the petitioners that the bodies in the motor vehicles built by them are exempted from the payment of excise duty, that the petitioners undertake body building and fabricating process and that the nature of their transaction would not constitute them as manufacturer of motor vehicles so as to warrant liability to pay excise duty. It is also contended that the petitioners make very little profit and that a declaration as prayed for should be issued.