Marketability governs excise duty on captive acetylene gas; absence of a finding led to remand for determination

Acetylene gas emerging in crude form during manufacture and consumed captively was considered for excise duty only if it was marketable or capable of being marketed, not merely because it fell within a tariff entry. The record lacked a clear finding on whether the gas, in the form in which it emerged, satisfied the marketability requirement. The matter was therefore remitted for a specific finding on that factual issue before excisability could be determined under the tariff item.

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Issues: Whether acetylene gas emerging in crude form during manufacture and used captively was liable to excise duty as marketable excisable goods under Tariff Item 14H(vi) of the Central Excise Tariff.

Analysis: The decisive requirement for excisability is not merely inclusion in a tariff entry but also marketability or capability of being marketed. The record did not contain a clear finding on whether the acetylene gas, in the form in which it emerged and was used for captive consumption, possessed that characteristic. In the absence of such a finding, the question could not be finally resolved on the existing material.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted to the Tribunal to record a specific finding on marketability of the acetylene gas in the form in which it emerged.

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