Excise duty cannot be imposed by notification on liquor not actually lifted from the warehouse without clear statutory authority.

The Madhya Pradesh Excise Act, 1915 confined excise and countervailing duties to liquor imported, exported, transported, manufactured, cultivated, collected, or issued from a distillery, brewery, or warehouse as authorised by the Act. The rule-making power under section 62 extended only to carrying out the Act and regulating licences and permits, and did not authorise a fresh levy by notification or licence conditions on liquor not actually lifted from the warehouse. A taxing burden cannot be created by subordinate legislation without clear statutory authority. The impugned notification and the resulting demand notices were therefore invalid and not authorised by law.

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Issues: Whether the State Government could validly, by notification and licence conditions framed under the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act, 1915, impose excise duty on liquor not actually lifted from the warehouse by the licensees.

Analysis: The scheme of the Madhya Pradesh Excise Act, 1915 confined excise duty and countervailing duty to articles imported, exported, transported, manufactured, cultivated, collected, or issued from a distillery, brewery, or warehouse in the manner authorised by the Act. Chapter V dealt with duties and fees, while the rule-making power under section 62 was limited to carrying out the provisions of the Act and regulating licences, permits, and related matters. The statutory framework did not confer any power on the State Government to create a fresh levy on liquor not actually taken delivery of by the contractors. A taxing levy cannot be imposed by subordinate legislation unless the parent statute clearly authorises it, and the rule-making authority cannot transgress the limits of the statute.

Conclusion: The impugned notification and the resulting demand notices were not authorised by law and were invalid.

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