9911796707
TMI Blog1988 (11) TMI 109X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of India, manufactures ossein and gelatine. It claimed exemption from excise duty under a notification of the Government of India dated 30-6-1979. By this notification one more item was added to a list of items exempted from payment of excise duty under an earlier notification dated 1-3-1975. This item reads as follows: 'Crushed bones and bone products.' 3. The respondent company manufactures the above products from bones. Ossein is prepared from bones by dissolving the mineral part of the bones with phosphoric acid. From the ossein so obtained, gelatine is obtained by treating the same further with an alkali. Although gelatine can also be manufactured from other sources such as pig skin and hides, it is common ground that the respondent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d to the benefit of the same notification, treating it as a 'bone product'. 5. The learned Solicitor General, appearing on behalf of the appellant, submitted that the view taken by the Tribunal is erroneous. According to him, the words 'bone products' should be read along with words 'crushed bones' and, therefore, the exemption under the notification is only limited to primary products obtained on crushing of bones such as bone sinew, bone grist and bone meal. He submitted that ossein and gelatine cannot be described as bone products because they could also be obtained from raw material other than bones, such as pig skin and hides. What is essential, according to him, is to consider whether the products in question retain the principal cha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... merely by the extraction of the mineral parts of the bones. Gelatine is obtained by a further treatment, with an alkali, of the ossein manufactured from the bones. It is the collagen which forms the organic content of the bones and is utilised in the manufacture of ossein and gelatine. The word 'product' is defined in Webster's Comprehensive Dictionary as "anything produced or obtained as a result of some operation or work". The expression "bone products" therefore merely means anything produced or obtained from bones. Whether such derivation is by a simple physical process or by a chemical reaction would seem to make no difference to the end product. Buttermilk, for instance, does not cease to be a milk product merely because a chemical p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urisdiction is unlimited, there is inherent limitation imposed in such appeals. The Tribunal has not deviated from the path of correct principleand has considered all the relevant factors. If the Tribunal has acted bona fide with natural justice by a speaking order. In our opinion, even if superior Court feels that another view Is possible, that is no ground for substitution of that view i^exercise of power under clause (b) of Section 130E of the Act." 9. In the present case the Tribunal has taken into consideration all relevant factors and committed no error of principle or law. Even assuming that the terms of the exemption notification can also lend themselves to a narrower construction which may commend itself to another Tribunal or Cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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