KEESARA YOGANNANDA SARMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Plaintiff is the appellant. His suit is for a declaration that the levy of excise duty n a sum of Rs. 15543.00 is illegal, and void and for a consequential injunction t restrain the defendant from collecting the said amount.

(2.) The plaintiff is a producer of tobacco which is one of excisable goods under the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944. The said tobacco was stored in a non-duty paid warehouse. He sold the tobacco to one Messrs. Polisetti Venkateswarju and Company of Guntur. The plaintiff applied for transport permits to the officer-in-charge of his warehouse. After obtaining a bond from him, permits were issued. The goods were then transported to Guntur. Part of the goods were accounted for i.e. rewarehoused. It appears that the said purchaser sold the said tobacco to a third party without warehousing the same at Guntur. Proceedings in that behalf were taken first against the consignee which were later dropped proceedings were then taken against the consignor, namely the plaintiff. The plaintiff was held liable for the payment of duty in respect of such non-rewarehoused tobacco and the appropriate duty was demanded from him. The plaintiff filed appeals and revision provided by the Act against the said demand, but to no avail. Thereafter, he instituted the present suit.

(3.) According to rule 9 of the Central Excise Rules, no excisable goods shall b removed from any place where they are produced, cured or manufactured or any premises appurtenant thereto whether for consumption, export or manufacture of any other commodity, in or outside such place, until the excise duty leviable thereon has been paid. According to the first proviso to rule 9 such goods may be deposited without payment of duty in a storeroom approved by the Collector or in a warehouse appointed or licensed under rule 140. Chapter IV deals with unmanufactured products (tobacco is an unmanufactured product) Rule 19 provides :