SHREE SITARAM MILLS LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this case are Shree Sitaram Mills Ltd. and in the petition they have impugned the decisions respectively given by respondents 3, 2 and 1 holding that certain fabric manufactured by the petitioners is furnishing fabric as distinguished from the petitioners' contention that the said fabric being Sort No. 7429 manufactured by them was dress material and not furnishing fabric. If it is basically dress material then it would be classified under Item 19I(2) and not under Item 19I(1) as the Department has purported to classify the said fabric. If the petitioners' contentions were to be upheld then the duty leviable on the fabric under Item 19I(2) would depend upon the count and as the count would make it fall within sub-head (e) the excise duty payable for the relevant time was 60 paise per sq. mtr. plus additional duty of 4 paise per sq. mtr. Under Item 19I(1), however, the duty chargeable was 15 per cent ad valorem plus additional duty of 2 1/2 percent.

(2.) Several contentions have been raised by the petitioners against three impugned orders - one by the Assistant Collector initially, thereafter in appeal by the Appellate Collector (Ex.'E') at page 39 and finally in revision by the Union of India. I find a slight confusion in the revisional orders. It would appear that the two Secretaries to the Government of India who had heard the revision originally differed and thereafter the third Secretary who had not heard the party agreed with the Secretary who had held against the petitioners. It would be clear that before the final decision was taken by the third Secretary some sort of hearing was required to be given to the petitioners to explain their case in detail. There is no difficulty whatsoever in quashing the order in revision but I found the appellate order also to be extremely sketchy, cursory and therefore totally unsatisfactory.

(3.) This is the appellate order passed by the Appellate Collector, Central Excise, Bombay. Copy of the said order is annexed as exhibit 'E' to the petition. The order takes slightly over two typewritten pages. The effective order only consists of the following five lines :-