Cess on crude oil receivable only on refinery receipt, not on tanker-loaded quantity under the statute.

Cess under Section 15(2) of the Oil Industries Development Act, 1974 was payable only at the point when crude oil was received in the refinery. Liability could not be extended to the quantity merely loaded in the tanker, because the statutory language fixed the incidence of levy on receipt, not shipment. The Commissioner's contrary view was inconsistent with the provision, and the demand based on the loaded quantity could not be sustained. The assessee's liability was confined to the quantity actually received in the refinery, so the demand was unsustainable to that extent.

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Issues: Whether cess under Section 15(2) of the Oil Industries Development Act, 1974 was leviable on the quantity of crude oil loaded in the tanker or only on the quantity actually received in the refinery.

Analysis: Section 15(2) fixes the incidence of excise duty on crude oil at the stage when it is received in the refinery. The Commissioner's view that liability attached to the crude oil on board the vessel was contrary to the statutory language. Since the assessee admitted liability only on the quantity actually received in the refinery, the demand based on the loaded quantity could not be sustained.

Conclusion: Cess could be levied only on the actual quantity of crude oil received in the refinery, not on the quantity loaded in the tanker. The demand was therefore unsustainable to that extent and the appeal succeeded for the assessee.

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