TMI Blog1986 (1) TMI 359X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of running the Tramways service since 1881. By the West Bengal Act of 1967 the management of the said Company was taken over by the Government of West Bengal. By the Calcutta Tramways Co. (Acquisition of Undertaking) Act, 1976 the Undertaking was transferred to and vested In the Government of West Bengal with effect from 8-11-76. The services have run in the interest of the public and as the main mode of transport in the city. The West Bengal Government has been running the said company. An Administrator has been appointed by the State Government to manage the affairs of the Undertaking. Residuary Item 68 was introduced to the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, with effect from 1-3-1975. The officers of the Central E ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... into his custody or control. Initially a period of three years was fixed and under the amending Act the State Government had extended the period of management by a further year. According to him, since the Undertaking belonged to the State Government and the goods if at all they are excisable would be exempted under Notification 57/75 which reads as follows :- All goods falling under Item No. 68 and manufactured by a factory belonging to any of the State Government for purposes declared by Parliament by law to be incidental to the ordinary functions of the Government, are exempt from the whole of the excise leviable thereon. He further urged that the tram cars were not manufactured by the appellants and they had no market as such. Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fference in determining the excisability of that product. On the question of valuation he stated that the value given by the appellants was taken as the assessable value for the purpose of determining the duty liability. 5. Shri A.K. Banerjee initially stated that the special Bench will have no jurisdiction to decide the issue arising in this case as it is purely a case for the Regional Bench. We do not accept this contention because admittedly the interpretation of Notification 57/75 is involved and that will have an impact on the determination of the rate of duty of excise payable on the goods. The objection is overruled. 6. The first question to be considered by us is the effect of the words belonging to occurring in Notification 5 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No such declaration has been filed in this proceeding. The maintenance of a transport system would not be an ordinary function of the Government unless it was so declared by the Parliament. 7. Even otherwise we notice that under Clause 6 the management of the State Government would revert to the Company after the expiration of a period of three years. It was no doubt extended up to 19th July, 1971. But the appellants have not placed any other document to show that the Undertaking belongs to the Government, after that date also. Though there is reference to Tramways Company (Acquisition of Undertaking) Act of 1976 those provisions have not been placed before us. The appellants claim an exemption and it is for them to make that they have f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
