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

Section: 3( 1 )

  Central Excises and Salt Act (I of 1944)--- ----S.3 (1) & First Sched., Part 1, Item No.4---Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199---Notification No. SRO 136 (1)/70, dated 29-6-1970 having made oil waste "met" liable to excise duty in the same manner as duty leviable on non essential oils themselves, whether violative of the provisions of Central Excises and Sat. Act, 1944---Items to be subjected to the charge of excise duty, must fall under the category of oils---Waste, dirt or met of oil could not be described  as  part  of  end-product  viz.  vegetable non-essential oil because of being extraneous to it---Waste obtained in the process of manufacturing vegetable oil does not come within the ambit of non-essential oils, as such it could not be subjected to excise duty---Authority vide Notification No. SRO 136 (1)/70, dated 26-9-1970, having made the oil waste "met" liable to excise duty in the same manner as duty leviable on non-essential oils themselves, same was ultra vires of the provisions of Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and was thus, without lawful authority and of no legal effect. Interpretation of statutes--- ---- Statutes imposing burdens were to be strictly construed and doubts, if any, were to be resolved in favour of a citizen rather than the State. JUDGMENT   This judgment will dispose of W.P. No. 1526 of 1972, W.P. No. 1246 of 1975 and W.P. No. 1994 of 1975 as the question involved in all of them is one and the same, i.e. whether or not `waste', `dirt', or `met' obtained while manufacturing the oil is subject to excise duty? Subsection (1) of section 3 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 provides that: "There shall be levied and collected in such manner as may be prescribed duties of excise on all excisable goods, produced or manufactured, and on all excisable services provided or rendered, in Pakistan, as, and at the rates, set forth in the First Schedule." By item No.4 of Section II (relating to the "Vegetable Fats and Oils") of Part I of the First Schedule, the excise duty has been levied on the `vegetable non-essential oils' as…