Processed oxidized vegetable oil fell outside the statutory definition, so cess could not be levied.

Oxidized vegetable oil that has undergone further chemical processing does not fall within the statutory definition of vegetable oil under Section 3(h) of the National Oil Seeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board Act, 1983, because the definition covers oil produced from oilseeds or other plant-origin oil-bearing material but excludes oil subjected to further processing after recovery. Applying the governing precedent, the decisive test is whether the product still answers the statutory description after processing. As the product arose only after additional treatment, it was outside the definition and cess could not be levied on it.

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Issues: Whether oxidized vegetable oil, after further processing by addition of chemicals, falls within the definition of vegetable oil so as to attract cess under the relevant notification and statutory definition.

Analysis: The applicable definition of vegetable oil under Section 3(h) of the National Oil Seeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board Act, 1983 covers oil produced from oil seeds or other oil-bearing material of plant origin, but excludes oil subjected to further processing after recovery. Applying the governing precedent, the crucial test is whether the product remains within the statutory definition after processing. Since the product in question was obtained only after additional chemical treatment and further processing, it did not answer the statutory description on which cess could be levied.

Conclusion: The cess was not leviable on oxidized vegetable oil, and the demand was unsustainable.

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