S.H.SHETH - (1.)The petitioner is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 It has a factory at Baroda where it had been manufacturing extruded aluminium collapsible tubes. The petitioner held a license for manufacturing extruded shapes and sections including extruded pipes and tubes. The license was granted to it by the Central Excise authorities under the Central Excises and Salt Act 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act for the sake of brevity). On 3rd April 1970 the petitioner surrendered its license to Central Excise authorities for cancellation. The Assistant Collector of Central Excise Baroda cancelled it and informed the petitioner accordingly on 21st April 1970.
(2.)Thereafter the petitioner started purchasing plain tubes and plain containers from the market and engaged itself in printing and lacquering them. Printed and lacquered tubes and containers were sold by it in the market to their consumers. On 25th February 1971 the petitioner received from the Superintendent of Central Excise Baroda the letter dated 24th February 1971 enquiring whether the petitioner had stopped all operations relating to the manufacture of extruded aluminium pipes and tubes including incidental and ancillary process of printing and lacquering them. On 2nd March 1971 the petitioner replied to the Superintendent of Central Excise and stated that no Central Excise license was necessary for printing and/or lacquering duty-paid extruded shapes and sections or tubes and pipes purchased by it from the market. It contended that no central excise duty was leviable on such printing and lacquering. The petitioner however stated that if the Superintendent of Central Excise did not accept the aforesaid view of the petitioner he should hear the petitioner before taking any decision in the matter On 22nd May 1971 the petitioner received from the Superintendent of Central Excise notice dated 20th May 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the impugned notice) asking the petitioner to obtain the Central Excise L-4 license with immediate effect because according to him printing and/or lacquering was incidental to the process of manufacturing extruded shapes and sections or extruded tubes and pipes of aluminium. The petitioner appealed against the impugned notice to the Assistant Collector of Central Excise Baroda on 15th June 1971. The appeal was heard on 16th June 1971. By his order dated 23rd August 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the impugned order) the Assistant Collector dismissed the appeal.
(3.)It is against the impugned notice and the impugned order that this petition has been filed.
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