SANJAY ZARDA FACTORY Vs. CCE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant is a manufacturer of unbranded chewing tobacco. Under the impugned order a duty demand of Rs. 69,262/ - has been made in respect of the unbranded chewing tobacco manufactured by the appellant. A penalty of Rs. 20,000/ - has also been imposed.

(2.) THE duty demand is the Additional Excise Duty (AED) held to be payable on unbranded chewing tobacco cleared by the appellant during the period June 1998 to March 1999. The finding is that there was no exemption from AED during the particular period in question. Prior to and thereafter unbranded chewing tobacco remained exempt from AED.

(3.) IN the impugned order, the view taken is that the exemption to unbranded chewing tobacco from AED under Notification No. 9/96 was available only during the validity period of Notification No. 16/97 and since that Notification was superseded on 2nd June 1998 under Notification No. 8/98, the exemption was not available from the date of issue of Notification No. 8/98.