- (1.) This appeal involves the question whether the products, Bifuran Supplement, Neftm-50 and Neftin-200, manufactured by the appellant, are chargeable to excise duty as 'patent or proprietary medicines under Item 14-E of the First Schedule to the central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the 'excise Tariff) or the said products are exempted from excise duty under Notification No. 6/84 dated 15/02/1984, as animal feed supplement At the relevant time Item 14-E of the Excise Tariff was as under: "14-E.patent or proprietary medicines not containing alcohol, opium, Indian hemp or other narcotic drugs or other narcotics other than those medicines which are exclusively Ayurvedic, Unani, Sidha or Homeopathic. Explanation 1.- 'patent or Proprietary Medicines means any drug or medicinal preparation, in whatever form, for use in the internal or external treatment of, or for the prevention of ailments in human beings or animals which bears either on itself or on its container or both, a name which is not specified in a monograph in a pharmacopoeia, formulary or other publications notified in this behalf by the central government in the official Gazette, or which is a brand name, that is, a name or a registered trade mark under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958, or any other mark such as a symbol, monogram, label, signature or invented words or any writing which is used in relation to that medicine for the purpose of indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between the medicine and some person, having the right either as proprietor or otherwise to use the name or mark with or without any indication of the identity of that person. Explanation II.-'alcohol', 'opium', Indian Hemp', 'narcotic drugs and 'narcotics have the meanings respectively assigned to them in S. 2 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise duties) Act, 1955. "
(2.) Item 68 of the Excise Tariff was in the nature of a residuary provision and it read as under: "68.All other goods, not elsewhere specified, but excluding: (A) alcohol, all sorts, including alcoholic liquors for human con- sumption; (B) opium, Indian hemp and other narcotic drugs and narcotics; and (C) dutiable goods as defined in S. 2 (c) of the Medicinal and toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955 (16 of 1955. Explanation. For the purposes of this item, goods which are referred to in any preceding item in this Schedule for the purpose of excluding such goods from the description of goods in that item (whether such exclusion is by means of an Explanation to such item or by words of exclusion in the description itself or in any other manner) shall be deemed to be goods not specified in that item. "
(3.) In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1 of Rule 8 of the central Excise Rules, 1944, the central government issued notification dated 28/02/1982 whereby the goods of the descriptions specified in the Schedule annexed to the said notification and falling under Item 68 of the Excise Tariff were exempted from the levy of central excise duty. Entry at Serial No. 10 in the Schedule annexed to the said notification was: "Animal feed including compound livestock feed. ";