Law: Central Excises and Salt Act (I of 1944)

Section: 3, 12

Central Excises and Salt Act (I of 1944), Ss. 3 & 12-A Excise duty-Exemption -Central Government competent to lay down any condition for exemption of goods from duty-Notifica tion exempting laundry soap manufactured by owners of factories having no financial interest in any other industrial or commercial enterprise -Contention that exemption could be made in respect of "goods or class of goods" and not in respect of goods relatable to "any person or class of persons"-Government by imposing such condition, held, made exemption applicable to a "class of goods" and hence did not act in excess of its jurisdic tion-Such condition, further held, quite consistent with spirit of time. Date of hearing : 17th March 1970. JUDGMENT SALAHUDDIN AHMED, J.-The Rules in these four petitions have been heard together and are now being disposed of by one order as the question involved is the same in all the four petitions. The facts in the four petitions are not in dispute and the only question that calls for consideration is whether the Government of Pakistan that issued the impugned Notification was competent to do so. The impugned Notification is dated 2-12-66 and it runs as follows :- "In exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of section 12-A of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (I of 1944) and in supersession of the Ministry of Finance Notifica tion No. S. R. O. 38(R)/64, dated the 21st June 1964, the Central Government is pleased to exempt, laundry soap produced in a factory which is operated without the aid of power, steam or gas and the owner of which has no financial interest in any other industrial or commercial enterprise, from the whole of the duty leviable thereon under the said Act." Section 13-A of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 hereinafter called the Act is as follows: "Exemptions.-(1) The Central Government may from time to time, by notification in the official Gazette, exempt any goods or class of goods from the whole or any part of the duty leviable under this Act." The petitioner in each case is a manufacturer of laundry soap produced in his factory which is operated without the aid…