Excise duty on removal date governs when exemption is withdrawn; levy remains duty on manufacture, not unconstitutional.

Excise duty on goods manufactured while an exemption was in force was chargeable at the rate applicable on the date of removal from the factory. The relevant tariff entry had already made the goods excisable, and the exemption only postponed collection by fixing the duty at nil until withdrawal. Rule 9A treated removal as the operative date for determining duty, while Rule 8(1) merely authorised exemption from the duty otherwise leviable. Withdrawal of the exemption did not change the nature of the levy as duty on manufacture; it only changed the collectible rate from nil to the tariff rate, and the constitutional challenge was rejected.

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Issues: Whether excise duty on goods manufactured before withdrawal of exemption was payable at the rate in force on the date of removal from the factory.

Analysis: The goods had already become excisable when the relevant tariff entry was introduced, and the earlier exemption only postponed the levy by foreclosing collection of duty. Rule 9A fixed the relevant date for determining duty as the date of removal, while Rule 8(1) authorised exemption from the duty leviable on excisable goods. The withdrawal of the exemption did not alter the character of the levy as excise duty on manufacture; it only changed the rate from nil to the full tariff rate. The distinction between the essence of the tax and the machinery or measure of collection was decisive, and the argument that the levy became unconstitutional was rejected.

Conclusion: The duty was correctly charged at the rate in force on the date of removal, and the challenge to the levy failed.

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