TMI Blog1996 (12) TMI 68X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... anaesthetics are ingredients of the medicinal preparations sought to be made dutiable. As in the case of Xylocaine, what it is within the anaesthetics that produces drowsiness or sleep or stupefaction or insensibility was not identified. For the reasons aforestated , these appeals must also be dismissed. - Civil Appeal No.1780 of 1980, with 3536-40/82 & 7431/83 - - - Dated:- 10-12-1996 - S.P. Bharucha and S.C. Sen, JJ. R.F. Nariman, Senior Advocate, Y.P. Adhyaru, Ms. Hemantika Wahi, Ms. H. Mukherjee, P.H. Parekh, Ms. Indoo Verma, Mukul Mudgal, B.H. Chhatarpati and Gopal Jain, Advocates, for the appearing parties. V.K. Verma, Advocate, for Union of India. [Judgment per : Bharucha, J.]. - These appeals arise out of judgments ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... allowed by the principal judgment under appeal. 3. Reference must first be made to some provisions of the said Act. Section 2 is its definition section. Clause (c) thereof defines "dutiable goods" to mean "the medicinal and toilet preparations specified in the Schedule". Clause (c) defines "medicinal preparation" to include "all drugs which are a remedy or prescription prepared for internal or external use of human beings or animals and all substances intended to be used for or in the treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease in human beings or animals". The definition of "narcotic drug" and "narcotic" in clause (h) reads thus : "(h) "narcotic drug" or "narcotic" means a substance (other than alcohol) which when swallowed or inhale ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t to be taxed ceased to produce the symptoms set down in the definition of Section 2(h), it ceased to be a narcotic drug or a narcotic. For this, among other reasons, the High Court rejected the Revenue's case. 6. We do not agree with the High Court that, by reason of the definition in Section 2(h), a narcotic drug or a narcotic is a substance which must produce drowsiness and sleep and stupefaction and insensibility, in that order, in a human being, and that the word "or" between "stupefaction" and "insensibility" therein must be read as "and". We take the view that, on its plain meaning, a narcotic drug or narcotic as defined in Section 2(h) is a substance other than alcohol, which when swallowed or inhaled by, or injected into a human ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de some substance, other than a medicinal preparation, that possesses the properties of producing drowsiness, sleep, stupefaction or insensibility That substance needs to be identified. If that substance is in a medicinal preparation, whether by itself or by reason of being an ingredient of another medicinal preparation that is incorporated in the medicinal preparation, the medicinal preparation is dutiable. In the present case, it is not enough for the Revenue to state that the said medicinal preparations contain Xylocaine and Xylocaine has the properties mentioned in Section 2(h). What must be set out is : what is it that is contained in Xylocaine which contains these properties and, by reason thereof, makes the said medicinal preparation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
