TMI Blog1990 (9) TMI 88X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 44 published exemption notification dated March 1, 1975 providing that goods of description specified in the schedule and falling under Item No. 68 of the First Schedule to the Act are exempted from payment of whole of duty of excise leviable thereon. The first entry in the schedule reads as under:- "All kinds of food products and food preparations, including (i) meat and meat products; (ii) dairy products; (iii) fruit and vegetable products; (iv) fish and sea foods; (v) Bakery products; and (vi) grain mill products." 2. Petitioner No. 1 company filed classification list in form I in respect of several products manufactured and claiming exemption under exemption notification dated March 1, 1975. The Assistant Collector of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... question would depend upon whether baking powder would fall within the expression 'food products' or 'food preparations'. The expressions 'food products' and 'food preparations' are not defined under the Act and the Supreme Court in Collector of Central Excise v. Parle Exports (P) Ltd. [1988 (38) E.L.T. 741] has laid down the manner in which the Court should determine as to whether the manufacture is entitled to exemption notification. The Supreme Court was examining whether non-alcoholic beverage bases are 'food products' or 'food preparations' in terms of the notification in question. Mr. Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji (as he then was) speaking for the Bench observed in para 12 of the judgment: "How then should the courts proceed? The exp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing for the Bench observed that the expression 'foodstuff' in one sense has a narrow meaning and is limited to articles which are eaten as food for purposes of nutrition and nourishment and so would exclude condiments and spices such as yeast, salt, pepper, baking powder and turmeric, but in a wider sense, it includes everything that goes into the preparation of food proper to make it more palatable and digestible. The Supreme Court then referred to the meaning of the expression in Webster's International Dictonary and then Justice Vivian Bose in his inimitable style observed :- "So far as "food" is concerned, it can be used in a wide as well as a narrow sense and, in my opinion, much must depend upon the context and background. Even in a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... edible maize, starch special, soda bicarb and sodium aluminium sulphate. The finished product is marketed by the company in their brand name 'REX' in different packings. Baking powder is extensively used in bakery preparations like biscuits, breads and also in Indian preparations like pakoda, idli, samosa, gulab jamun, etc. The use of baking powder makes the preparation light and crisp and adds consistency to the formulation and improves the taste. As observed by the Supreme Court, the problem must be solved in a commonsense way and the Court should ascertain as to how the expression 'baking powder' is understood in common parlance. We have no hesitation in observing that any housewife would treat baking powder as a food preparation and in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the sake of giving flavour and taste to it. The Allahabad High Court did not assign any reasons for coming to this conclusion, but merely referred to the decision of a single Judge of the Andhra Pradesh_High Court in Brooki Bond India Limited v. Union of India Ors. [1980 (6) E.L.T. 65] and where it was held that coffee-chicory-blend was neither a food product nor a food preparation but is merely a beverage. We are unable, with respect, to share the view of the Allahabad High Court. It is not possible to hold that spices which are used in preparation of human food are not food preparations as understood in the exemption notification. Mr. Desai submitted that the question to be posed is whether spices and baking powder can be consumed a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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