LexM/S MOHAN MEAKIN LTD. versus EXCISE AND TAXATION COMMISSIONER, HIMACHAL PRADESH AND ORS.
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A
B
MIS MOHAN MEAKIN LTD.
v.
EXCISE AND TAXATION COMMISSIONER,
HIMACHAL PRADESH AND ORS.
NOVEMBER 27, 1996
[K. RAMASWAMY AND G.T. NANAVATI, JJ.]
Punjab Excise Act, 1914: Sections 3, 23 and 31
C
Punjab Breweries Rules, 1932 : Rule JO (3.4)
Excise duty-Beer-Exigibility to excise duty-Relevant stage of-High
Court held that it was exigible to duty at the stage when it is in fem1entation
i.e. wort in terms of Rule 10(3.4)--Appeal against decision of High
Court-Held, the range of potable alcohol varies between country spirit to
D whisky and the ethyl alcohof-The alcoholic strength of each excisable article
and its percentage varies as per the ISi specifications but intoxicating liquor
necessllli/y means only that liquor which was consumable by human beings
as it was-The state of levying excise duty upon alcoholic liquor arises when
excisable article is brought to the stage of human consumption with the
E requisite alcoholic strength thereof-It is only the final product which is
relevant-Thus the final product of the beer is relevant excisable article
exigible to duty under Section 31 of the Act when it passes through fine ilter
press and received in the bottling tanlc-Section 23 specifically envisages that
. until the payment of duty is made or bond is executed in that behalf as per
the procedufe and acceptance by the Financial Commissioner, the finished
F product, namely the beer in this case, shall not be removed from the place at
which finished product was stored either in a warehouse within factory
premises or precinct or permitted place of usage-{fnder these circumstances,
the point at which excise duty is exigible to duty is the time when the finished
· product, i.e. beer was received in bottling tank or the finished product is
G removed from the place of storage or warehouse etc.
Synthetics and Chemicals Ltd. v. State of U.P., [1990] 1 SCC 109 and
State of UP. v. Modi Distillery & Ors., [1995] 5 SCC 753, followed.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2457 of
H 1980.
258
MOHAN MEAKIN LID. v. EXCISE AND TAXATION COMNR., H.P.
259
From the Judgment and Order dated 2.7.80 of the Himachal Pradesh A
High Court in W.P. No. 121 of 1979.
Soli J. Sorabjee, Ravinder Narain, Rajan Narain, Ms. Amrita Mitra,
Amit Bansal and Pankaj Kalra for the Appellants.
T. Sridharan and Shiv Pujan Singh for the Respondents.
The following Order of the Court was delivered :
B
This appeal by special leave arises from the Judgment of the Division
Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, made on July 2, 1980 in Writ
Petition No. 121/79. The question is : at what stage the beer is exigible to C
duty under the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 (1 of 1914) (for short, the 'Act').
The Division Bench upholding Rule 10(3.4) of the Rules made under
Section 58 of the Act read with Section 59 of Punjab Breweries Rules, 1932
(for short, the 'Rules'), came to the conclusion that it is exigible to duty at
the stage when it is in fermentation, i.e., wort in terms of Rule 10(3.4). D
Calling that decision in question, this appeal came to be filed.
With a view to appreciate correctness of the view taken and having
heard the learned counsel for the parties, it is necessary to look into the
relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules. Chapter I, Section 3 of the
Act defines various words and phrases in the Act. Section 3(1) defmes E
"Bear" to include ale, porter, stout, and all other fermented liquors made
from malt. 'Liquor" has been defined under Section 3(14) of the Act to
mean 'intoxicating liquor and includes all liquid consisting of or containing
alcohol; also any substance which the State Government may by notifica-
tion declare, to be liquor for the purpose of this Act". "Excisable article" F
has been defined in Section 3( 6) to mean any alcoholic liquor for human
consumption; or any intoxicating drug. "Excise duty" and "countervailing
duty" as defmed in Section 3(6-b) would mean any such excise duty or
countervailing duty, as the case may be, as is mentioned in Entry 51 of
List-II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. "Intoxicant' under
Section 3(12-a) means any liquor or intoxicating drug as has·been defined G
in Section 3(16) to include every process, whether natural or artificial by
which any intoxicant is produced or prepared, and also redistillation, and
every process for the rectification, reduction, flavouring, blending or
colouring of liquor. 'Place' has been defmed undeExcerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.