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2002 (5) TMI 235 - SC - Central ExciseWhether ‘instant tea’ manufactured and exported by the respondent is liable for levy of cess under Section 25 of the Tea Act, 1953? Held that:- In order to satisfy the definition of ‘tea’ under Section 3(n), a product should be commercially known as tea and it should be made from the leaves of the plant of Camellia Sinensis (L) O. Kuntze. ‘Instant tea’ satisfies both these conditions. By the very name, the product namely ‘instant tea’ conveys that it is a ‘tea’. The term ‘instant tea’ is not the brand name of the product manufactured by the assessee but the name of the product itself. Thus the ‘instant tea’ is covered by the definition of tea within the meaning of Section 3(n). Once ‘instant tea’ falls within the definition of Section 3(n), a cess can be levied on it under Section 25 of the Act. In our view, the Commissioner (Appeals) was right in upholding the order of the Assistant Commissioner but the Tribunal went wrong in holding that ‘instant tea’ is different from ‘tea’ and it fell outside the scope of Section 3(n) of the Act referring to Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 and the Tea Waste (Control) Order, 1959. When the Act defined ‘tea’ specifically, the Tribunal ought not to have strained itself by referring to other enactments to construe ‘instant tea’ as the product not included within the definition of ‘tea’ under the Act.
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