Page 243 - ELT_2nd_15th April 2020_Vol 372_Part

2020 ] PEE CEE COSMA SOPE LTD. v. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, KANPUR 289

(v) The tariff item and the exemption notification have also been pub-
lished in the gazette in both English and Hindi. In the Hindi version
of the Gazette, the expression “Vidyut” has been used which means
“lightening, electricity, electric charge”. Thus,, when the Hindi ver-
sion of the expression refers to “electricity”, the corresponding Eng-
lish version using ‘power’ has to be understood and interpreted to
be ‘electricity’ only;
(vi) The Appellant has been subjected to hostile discrimination as there
are number of other manufacturers engaged in soap making that
have adopted identical process, but no proceedings have been initi-
ated against such manufacturers and they have been granted the
benefit of the exemption notifications; and
(vii) In any view of the matter, the extended period of limitation could
not have been invoked.
25. Shri Santosh Kumar Agarwal, Learned Authorized Representative
of the Department has, however, supported the impugned order. It is his conten-
tion that the restricted meaning to ‘power’ cannot be given in view of the defini-
tion of ‘power’ in the Factories Act and the dictionaries. It is his contention that
only when heat is generated manually by using wood in the manufacture of soap
that it would not be subjected to levy of Central Excise duty.
26. The submissions advanced by the Learned Counsel for the Appel-
lant and the Learned Authorized Representative for the Department have been
considered.
27. The Appellant manufactures ‘laundry soap’ under the brand name
‘Doctor’. The process of manufacture, as was explained by the Appellant in reply
to the show cause notice, requires oil to be put in big kadhais followed by Caus-
tic Soda and Silicate. This mixture is then boiled for a minimum of three hours.
Thereafter some oil and Soap Stone are mixed in a small kadhai and this mixture
is then put in the big Kadhai. The paste gathered from the big kadhai after an
hour is then transferred in moulds and put in a shed. After 48 hours, the blocks
that emerge are cut into sizes of required shape. Prior to January, 2002, the Ap-
pellant was using firewood for the heating and boiling activity and it was not
subjected to levy of Central Excise Duty. Thereafter, this activity was undertaken
by using LPG from January, 2002 and CNG from 11 December, 2002 for heating
purposes.
28. The show cause notice is for the period January, 2002 to February,
2006. The issue that arises for consideration is whether in the manufacture of
‘laundry soap’ no process has been carried out with the aid of power or steam for
heating because in that case no Excise Duty would be leviable in the manufacture
of soap.
29. As noticed above, from January, 2002, the Appellant had started us-
ing LPG cylinder for the heating and boiling activity for the manufacturing pro-
cess and from 11 December, 2002 the Appellant started using CNG for this activi-
ty. Section 82 of the Finance Act, 1996 amended the Tariff Act in the manner
specified in the Third Schedule. There is no dispute for the period prior to Janu-
ary, 2002 when the Appellant was using firewood for boiling purposes. Accord-
ing to the Appellant, with effect from 1 April, 1996 up to 28 February, 2005, soap
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