WIPRO LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a public limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged, inter alia, in the manufacture of Vegetable Products and Toilet Soaps. The petitioner No. 2 is a share-holder of petitioner No. 1 company. The factory manufacturing Vanaspati is located at Amalner in Jalgaon district. Vanaspati being manufactured by petitioner No. 1 was subjected to various processes and raw material used was raw vegetable oils like groundnut oil, etc. The Government of India thought it appropriate to encourage such manufacturers to use other raw oils like cotton seed oil, ricebran oil, solvent rapeseed oil, etc; which are popularly known as minor raw oils. The Government thought it appropriate to formulate a scheme to encourage use of alternative raw oils instead of groundnut oil or soyabean oil which involved a heavy outflow of financial liabilities required for import of these oils.

(2.) VANASPATI so manufactured is excisable under sub-heading No. 1504. 00 in Heading No. 15. 04 of Chapter 15 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and such excise duty was being paid by the petitioner No. 4 assessee at an effective rate of Rs. 1,900/- per tonne. With effect from 1-3-1987 respondent No. 1 inserted Rules 57-K to 57-P in the Central Excise Rules, 1954, (the Rules for short) framed under the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, (the Act for short) and under a new section in Chapter V titled as "section AAA". The notification dated 1-3-1987 bearing No. 27 of 1987 came to be issued by exercising powers under Rule 57-K by the Central Government and certain fixed vegetable oils as inputs and the vegetable products were declared as eligible for credit of money, if used in the manufacture of Vanaspati and other vegetable products. These oils were (i) Ricebran oil, (ii) Mahua oil, (iii) Watermelon seed oil, (iv) Solvent extracted cotton seed oil, (v) Solvent extracted mustard oil, (vi) Solvent extracted rapeseed oil, (vii) Solvent extracted sunflower oil, (viii) Solvent extracted safflower oil and (ix) Palm oil.

(3.) THE conditions mentioned for the benefit of this credit of money were: