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TMI Blog2011 (6) TMI 570X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... A/02 dated 18.9.2002 and (ii) Goa/BKS/20/2003 dated 01.07.2003. 2. The brief facts of the case are as follows. The assessee, Coalfax Lab, are engaged in the manufacture of after shave lotion which is covered under the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (excise duty) Act 1955. The officers attached to the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence, West Zone, visited the factory of the assessee and noticed that they were manufacturing denatured alcohol by adding denaturants to extra neutral alcohol. The assessee was directed to pay an amount of Rs. 5 lakhs towards duty on the past clearances which they pair. Thereafter, the assessee filed a refund claim for the said amount of Rs.5 lakhs as well as another claim for refund claim for R ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thyl alcohol and denaturing them by adding small quantity of di-ethyl pthalate (DEP). As the appellants are not manufacturing ethyl alcohol the product obtained in the factory by adding of di-ethyl pthalate in ethyl alcohol is not covered under heading No. 22.04 of the Tariff and therefore, no duty is payable on the denatured alcohol. The department is in appeal against the said order of the Commissioner (Appeals). 3. Ld. SDR submits that this Tribunal in case of. Accrapac (India) P. Ltd. vs. CCE 2009 (245) ELT 461 had held that denatured ethyl alcohol arising at the intermediate stage is an excisable and marketable product and therefore liable to excise duty. Ld. DR further submits that the said decision of the Tribunal was upheld b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... respect of quality control specification for denatured alcohol manufactured in the factory of M.s. CLIPL by adding 1% DEP to the consignment of ENA received as above. Shri Naik further confirmed that DEP is always added in the underground storage tanks containing ENA and never in the mixing vessels at the time of production of After Shave lotions and that DEP is used only as a denaturant for the manufacture of denatured alcohol.' He further submitted that denatured alcohol manufactured by adding 1% DEP to extra neutral alcohol are being sold by many distilleries and the assessee themselves have purchased such denatured alcohol from M/s Padmashree Dr. Vithalrao Vikhe Patil SSK in the past and that too on payment of central excise duty. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... have carefully considered the rival submissions. 6. As regards the first issue whether denatured alcohol obtained by adding 1% DEP on extra neutral alcohol is a manufactured product leviable to excise duty or not, this issue has been already decided by the Tribunal in the case of Accrapac case supra wherein it was held that such denatured alcohol emerging at an intermediate state is an excisable and marketable commodity. The said judgment was upheld by the Gujarat High Court also. Therefore, the dutiability of denatured alcohol has been clearly established in favour of the revenue in view of the judgement cited above the ratio of which applies to the facts of the present case. In view of the above, the decision of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 117:1976 and the said specifies prescribed DEP as a safe denaturant used in the ratio of 1 litre per 100 litre, i.e., 1% DEP. From the statement of the Production Manager, the quality control test done by the respondent assessee and the BIS Standards described above, it is evident that the product manufactured by them is a marketable commodity. Otherwise all the prescribed quality specification test need not have been undertaken by the respondent assessee as required under various laws. It is also a fact that the respondent assessee is procuring identical products from other distilleries on payment of Central Excise duty which also supports the above view. Therefore, we do not find any merit in the assessee's contention in this regard. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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