Present commercial suitability for fuel determines excisability; mere future possible use of rectified spirit cannot sustain central excise duty.

Rectified spirit ethyl alcohol was held not liable to central excise duty under Tariff Item 22.04 because it was not presently, practically, and commercially suitable for use as fuel. The Tribunal applied the settled construction of "suitable for use" to require actual present fitness for the specified use, not a merely casual, incidental, exceptional, or future possible use. The product contained about 94 to 95 per cent alcohol with the balance water, but no present suitability as fuel was shown. The possibility that technological or legal changes might later permit such use was held irrelevant to current excisability and marketability.

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Issues: Whether rectified spirit ethyl alcohol was liable to central excise duty under Tariff Item 22.04 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, and whether its potential or future possible use as fuel could by itself make it excisable.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier ruling on the same product and applied the settled construction of the expression "suitable for use" to mean a use that is actual, practical, and commercially fit, and not merely casual, incidental, exceptional, or possible. The product was found to be rectified spirit containing about 94 to 95 per cent alcohol with the balance being water, and it was not shown to be presently suitable as fuel. The possibility that technological or legal changes might at some future time make such use possible was held to be irrelevant to present dutiability. The Tribunal also relied on the principle that excisability depends on present marketability and present suitability for the specified use.

Conclusion: Rectified spirit was not liable to duty under Tariff Item 22.04 on the facts before the Tribunal, and mere potential future use could not sustain levy.

Final Conclusion: The appeals were allowed and the duty demands were set aside because the product was not presently suitable and commercially fit for use as fuel.

Ratio Decidendi: For classification under a tariff entry using the expression "suitable for use", the product must be presently, practically, and commercially fit for that use; a merely possible or future use does not render it dutiable.

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