1990 (2) TMI 150

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....on No. 116/69 dated 3-5-1969. The Assistant Collector found against the respondents and while the Collector (Appeals) found in their favour and hence the present appeal by the Collector of Central Excise, Bombay-I. 2. Notification No. 116/69-CE dated 3-5-1969 exempts patent and proprietory medicines falling under Item No. 14E of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act and containing one or more of the ingredients specified in the Schedule to the notification from the whole of the duty of excise leviable thereon. The exemption shall not apply to any medicine which contains any ingredient not specified in the said Schedule unless the ingredients are pharmaceutical necessities such as diluents, disintegrating agents, moisteni....

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....T. 411 (Bom.) The case before the High Court was in respect of the preparation called Flagyl containing metronidazole as such and not its ester. The discussion centred round the role of calcium carbonate in the preparation. The judgment is, therefore, of no assistance to the respondents in the present case. However, we must note that the obvious purpose of the notification in question is to exempt from excise duty certain medicines containing one or more of the ingredients specified in the notification. Metronidazole is one such specified ingredient. If, in the place of Metronidazole as such, it is introduced in the preparation as an ester, namely, its benzoate, in order to make the preparation palatable to children, there is no reason why ....

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....valent of 400 mg of metronidazole three times, daily, for 5 to 10 days and it has been further indicated that 200 mg of metronidazole benzoate is approximately equivalent to 125 mg of metronidazole. The dosage of metronidazole is also indicated as 400 mg three times daily, for 5 to 10 days. The passage further indicates that while metronidazole is bitter, its benzoate is almost tasteless. All these bear out the respondents' contention that the benzoate ester has been used to make the preparation acceptable to children and that the active role is played by metronidazole. The fact that in respect of certain ingredients like chloramphenicol, esters or other derivatives have been specified would not mean that if, in respect of metronidazole, it....