Excisable goods under adopted excise law remain subject to penalty and confiscation even when duty is nil or exempt.

Where a later fiscal statute adopts the Central Excise framework for levy and collection, the incorporated provisions extend beyond assessment to the relevant incidents of that regime, unless inconsistent with the later enactment. Goods described in the tariff remain excisable goods even if the duty rate is nil or the goods are exempt, because excisability depends on tariff description and liability to levy, not actual collection. On that basis, the penal machinery under Rule 173Q applies to such goods, and confiscation and penalty are available within the excise framework.

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Issues: Whether the provisions of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 and the Central Excise Rules, 1944, including the penal provision under Rule 173Q, applied to goods liable to additional duty under the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957, and whether such goods remained excisable goods for the purpose of confiscation and penalty.

Analysis: Section 3(1) of the 1957 Act levies additional duty, while Section 3(3) extends the provisions of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 and the rules made thereunder to the levy and collection of the additional duty. The Court held that this extension is not confined merely to assessment and collection but carries with it the relevant incidents of the excise regime, so long as they are not inconsistent with the later enactment. It further held that goods specified in the tariff schedule remain excisable goods even if the rate of duty is nil or the goods are exempted, because their character depends on the tariff description and liability to levy, not on actual collection of duty. On that basis, Rule 173Q was held applicable to the goods in question and the confiscation and penalty provisions were treated as available under the excise framework.

Conclusion: The legal objection that the goods were outside the scope of excisable goods and that penalty could not be imposed under Rule 173Q was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a later fiscal enactment adopts the Central Excise framework for levy and collection, the adopted provisions include the relevant incidents of that framework unless inconsistent, and goods specified in the tariff remain excisable goods even if duty is nil or exempted, making the penal machinery applicable.

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