- (1.) A common order No.A/1559 to 1563/WZB/2006 (EB) dated 14th August, 2006 in Appeal Nos. E/3292 to 3295 of 2004 passed by the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench, Mumbai, has been challenged in these appeals. The facts giving rise to the present appeals in a nut-shell are as under:
(2.) The respondent is a manufacturer of medicaments having license under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The respondent not only manufactures certain medicaments but also gets certain medicaments manufactured through other job workers so the respondent is a loan licensee - who is also permitted to get drugs manufactured at different places under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules made thereunder. Under the agreement entered into between the respondent on one hand and the job workers on the other hand, raw material as well as packing material is supplied to the job workers and as per the instructions of the respondent loan licensee, the job workers manufacture the medicaments under the supervision of the loan licensee, i.e. the respondent so as to see that the quality of the medicaments manufactured by the job workers is as prescribed by the loan licensee.
(3.) Several notices had been given to the respondent as well as to the job workers by the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise calling upon them to show cause as to why the respondent, the loan licensee should not be treated as a manufacturer as per the provisions of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 in respect of the medicaments manufactured by the job workers and on that basis the respondent was also called upon to make payment of certain duty and the job workers were also called upon to show cause as to why they should not be directed to pay penalty etc.;