Case Law Details
The special excise duty was being levied from 1963 upto 1971 by various Finance Acts passed from time to time. It was discontinued from 1972 until 1978 when it was revived by the Finance Act, 1978. Thereafter, it was being levied from year to year by annual Finance Acts.The provisions of these Finance Acts,insofar as the levy of special excise duty is concerned,are identical. In the Finance Acts of 1987 and 1988,however,the rate of special excise duty was raised to ten percent but then notifications were issued exempting the duty on all goods in toto. In other words,with effect from March 1,1986, there was,in effect,no special excise duty until February 28,1988. With effect from March 1, 1988, the duty was again imposed @ 5% while excepting certain essential commodities and other priority items from the said impost. We have held hereinabove that the goods manufactured/produced before March 1, 1978 but cleared on or after March 1, 1978 are not exciable to special excise duty. At the same time, we have also expressed before February 28, 1979 but cleared thereafter would be liable to pay the said duty at the rate and valuation in force as on February 28, 1979. In the light of the fact that the duty was continued from 1978 to 1986, indeed upto February 28, 1989 and also in view of the principle behind the presumption incorporated in Section 12- b of the Central Excise Act inserted by the Central Excises and Customs Law [Amendment] Act, 1991- which is not a legislative recognition of a widely accepted presumption – we think it appropriate to correct that the assessees shall not be entitled to refund of amount collected from them by way of special excial excise duty on or after Match 1, 1978 in respect of goods manufactured prior to the said date.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
COLLECTOR OF CENTRAL EXCISE,HYDERABAD ETC.ETC.
Vs.
M/S.VAZIR SULTAN TOBACCO COMPANY LIMITED, HYDERABAD ETC.ETC.
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