Jawahar Lal Gupta, J. - (1.) IS the action of the authorities in requiring the petitioner to declare the 'Maximum Retail Price' on the cartons containing Refrigerators, arbitrary and illegal? This is the short question that arises in this case.
(2.) THE petitioner is a company. It manufactures and markets Refrigerators and Washing Machines etc. in its factory at Faridabad. On March 1,2000, the Government of India issued a notification under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the Excise Act) specifying the goods "to which the provisions of ...Sub -section (2) shall apply...." The Refrigerators have been mentioned at Sr. No. 48. The implication of the notification is that the Maximum Retail Price of the goods has to be declared on the package and the excise duty is charged on "the retail price declared on such goods less amount of abatement....
(3.) THE petitioner alleges that from the date of issue of the notification, it has "started paying and depositing Central Excise duties on the maximum retail price State -wise as applicable for the Refrigerators..,." However, the "respondents are harassing the petitioner (by) requiring them (it) to print the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) on the outer cartons of the Refrigerators manufactured by" it. It requested the respondents to allow it "not to print/indicate the retail price on the cartons of the Refrigerators". Having received no reply, it has approached this Court through the present writ petition.;