- (1.) The petitioner is a Public Limited Company, and carries on inter alia the business of manufacture of chemical goods. It appears that since 1947 the petitioner company has been manufacturing caffeine from tea-waste. Tea-waste is manufactured at the tea gardens. To be accurate, it is the waste material that remains after edible tea has been manufactured. Tea-waste is an excisable material, and normally the duty is payable at the tea garden, where it is manufactured. An exception, however, is made if the tea-waste is removed from the tea garden for the purpose of manufacturing Caffeine. In 1947, and thereafter on various occasions, the petitioner company applied to the Excise authority for a licence to obtain tea-waste without payment of the Central Excise duty leviable thereon. In the applications it was stated that the petitioner would manufacture Caffeine at their foctory at 11A, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Calcutta, and that tea-waste will only be used for the manufacture of the aforesaid commodity and in the manner set out in the Schedule appended to the application. In the Schedule it was stated that the process of manufacture would be chemical extraction and then concentration and in-vacuo evaporation. It was also stated that solvents will be used in the process. It was expressly mentioned in the applications that the petitioner company was a licensee for manufacture of drugs and chemicals of the standard prevailing under the British Pharmacopoeia. Such licence is granted by the West Bengal Government under the Drug Control Order. A licence was issued to the petitioner for manufacturing Caffeine from tea-waste and the petitioner company also executed a bond. This licence was renewed from time to time. The case of the respondents is that secret information was received to the effect that for several years past the petitioner company had been utilising enormous amounts of duty-free tea-waste, by selling them as edible tea, and not manufacturing Caffeine as stipulated in the licence, thus earning large profits without payment of Government duty. The authorities followed up alleged sales to various parties and discovered that a great many of them were entirely fictitious. The authorities naturally wished to investigate the matter thoroughly and wanted access to the Books of the Company. All the books were, however, not forthcoming. The company alleges that owing to labour trouble books for a considerable period have been lost. Under the Central Excises and Salt Act and the rules made thereunder Returns have to be made, and it appears from the Returns themselves that the company has not satisfactorily accounted for all the commodities that they have utilised. It is very necessary therefore that a thorough investigation should be made as to whether the petitioner company has utilised all duty-free tea-waste for manufacturing Caffeine or has made surreptitious profit by disposing of the duty-free tea-waste as edible tea, in violation of the terms of the licence granted by the Excise Authorities. It appears that the Assistant Chemical Examiner of the Calcutta Customs House visited the company sometime in November, 1952 and he has given a note, a copy of which is annexed to the Affidavit in opposition. According to his report, the Chief Chemist and the Manager of the Company were not very frank in the information they gave about the process of manufacture. They mentioned some vague items of Chemicals being used, and described some irregular disconnected process of crude Alkaloid manufacture. According to the Assistant Chemical Examiner, the Company were not following the standard scientific method for preparing Caffeine and the equipment that was shown to him was of a very crude type, there being no proper equipment for preparing Caffeine of the B. P. standard. He therefore recommended that certain information should be asked for viz., what chemicals and other ingredients were being used in the process of preparing Caffeine and what were the plants and machinery used. In this connection I might mention that in the forms that were filed as returns under the Excise Rules (called R. G. 16 forms), it is found that for a long period what was being prepared was solid extract of tea, which it is stated, is not the same thing as Caffeine. In reply to this, it is said that this was crude Caffeine and this kind of return was made because the Company was told by some Officers to describe the products in this fashion. It is stated that the crude Caffeine was subsequently refined. It is also admitted that there are some discrepancies between the actual stock and what appears in the books. On these facts, I think that the authorities are quite justified in launching a thorough investigation into the matter and using all their available resources for determining whether the petitioner company has complied with the Excise Acts and Rules and whether Government has been deprived of any revenue. The immediate cause which has given rise to this application is a notice issued by the Superintendent Central Excise Land Customs, Central Preventive Circle Calcutta, dated the 16th December, 1952, to the petitioner, under Section 14 of the Central Excises and Salt Act. That Section empowers Excise officers mentioned therein, to summon any person whose attendance they consider necessary either to give evidence, or to produce a document or any other thing, in any inquiry which such officers are making, for any of the purposes of the Act. A summons to produce document and other things may be for the production of certain specified documents and things or for the production of certain description in the possession or under the control of the persons summoned, it is further laid down that all persons so summoned shall be bound to attend either in person or by an authorised agent as such officer may direct, and all persons so summoned shall be bound to state the truth upon any subject in respect of which they are examined or make statements and produce such documents and other things as may be required. The notice, which is in the nature of a summons under Section 14, calls upon the petitioner to do the following things. It requires the manager of the petitioner company to appear personally or by an authorised agent before the Superintendent, C.E. & L. Customs on the 26th December, 1952 and "(1) to be prepared to answer truthfully and to the best of your knowledge or belief, all questions which may be put to you regarding the enquiry mentioned above and (2) to bring with you (a) the documents as per list attached to this summons and (b) to furnish statements and information in writing on the matters shown in the said list".
(2.) A schedule annexed to the notice sets out a list of documents, and consists of accounts of Caffeine produced, account of Caffeine disposal. Bill Books, Vouchers, challans, etc. He is also required to make certain statements in writing with regard to the books, the item to which the greatest objection has been levelled is item No. 4 which runs as follows : "(4) Books showing the date, description and price of the Caffeine manufacturing plant and parts thereof purchased by them from time to time during the period 1947 to 1952". The heading in the statement required to be furnished, which is objected to, runs as follows: "Quantities of different kinds of ingredients used itemwise."
(3.) This Rule was issued on the 19th January, 1953 by Bose, J. calling upon the respondents opposite parties to show cause why the books mentioned in the petition should not be returned to the petitioner or why a Writ in the nature of Mandamus should not issue to the opposite parties directing them to forbear from acting under the summons dated the 16th December, 1952, complained of in the petition, or why a writ in the nature of Prohibition should not issue prohibiting the opposite parties from taking any steps under the said summons and also why the said summons should not be cancelled, quashed and/or otherwise dealt with or why such other or further order or orders or directions should not be made or given as this Court may seem fit and proper.;