TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1995 (3) TMI 203
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.... He has described the process as under : "Castor oil is taken into a closed vessel and is heated under vacuum so that dehydration is started. Then catalyst is added to enhance the rate of dehydration when dehydration is completed the mass is discharged in cooling vessel where carbon and fuller earth are added to facilitate filtration and then filtered." He held that this process was not one of the processes which if applied to a vegetable non-essential oil, renders it ineligible for the benefit of notification. Entry 7 of the notification provides exemption to vegetable non-essential oils other than processed vegetable oils. The Explanation to the notification defines processed vegetable non-essential oil as such oil which had undergone, subsequent to its extraction as one or more of the following processes : 1. Treatment with an alkali or acid 2. Bleaching 3. Deodorisation. 4. It is to be noted that the classification of the monomeric and polymeric oils under item 12 was not disputed before the Assistant Collector or Collector (Appeals). The Department now seeks to classify the oils under Tariff Item 68 on the ground that the cracking of the oil results in m....
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....classifiable under Item 12 for the reason it continues to be vegetable non-essential oil after such hardening. The classification decided by the Assistant Collector would remain unaltered. 6. It would also follow that the finding of the Collector (Appeals) has eligibility of the oil for the benefit of the notification would have to be confirmed, he has correctly noted that castor oil has not been subjected to processing, since it has not been subjected to any process specified in the explanation of the notification. Since the explanation restricts the scope of the `term' by specifying the processes in question, and castor oil that has not undergone any of these specified processes, cannot be considered to be a processed oil within the meaning of that notification. The benefit of the notification is therefore, available to it. In the result, we dismiss the Department's appeal and confirm the order appealed against. Date : 16-12-1994    Sd/ (Gowri Shankar) Member (T) 7. [Contra per : S.K. Bhatnagar, Vice President]. - With due respects to Hon'ble Member (T), my views and orders are as follows : 8. I observe that admittedly t....
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.... converts those of higher molecular weight into lighter ones. In other words by cracking new products are obtained; or to put it differently cracking leads to conversion of one type of products into another. 13. It has, however, been stated by the Learned Counsel before us that in the present case simply dehydration is involved and "in the catalytic method, castor oil is heated under a vacuum at a temperature in the range of 230-280oC in the presence of a catalyst until water is no longer evolved." (As per the Bailey's Industrial Oil and Fat Products). So far so good; but the Learned Counsel has also emphasised that castor oil on being subjected to dehydration remains castor oil. This to my mind is not merely over-simplification but incorrect. 14. First and foremost dehydration can and often does result into a new commodity. For example : (i) Liquid milk on dehydration gets converted into milk powder which is another commodity; (ii) Fresh grapes (fresh fruit) on gradual dehydration get converted into Kishmish (a dry fruit) which is another commodity. Secondly, in the present case "catalytic dehydration converts castor oil to and excellent drying oil called dehyd....
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....n the Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgment in the case of Jayant Oil Mills (P) Ltd. - 1989 (40) E.L.T. 287 does not help the cause of the respondent. And the fact that in the present case the characteristic properties change and a new product emerges cannot be overlooked. 19. In so far as the Tribunal's order in the case of Jayant Oil Mills - 1993 (67) E.L.T. 986 (Tribunal) is concerned it has again dealt with a different product namely dehydrogenated castor oil and not with dehydrated castor oil. Furthermore the technical literature mentioned above and the aspects discussed above do not appear to have been noticed. 20. As far as the question as to how the product is treated in trade and industry is concerned the Bailey's book as well as Kirk Othmer's book mentioned above deal with the product as known in trade and industry and mention its commercial applications and we have seen above how DCO is recognised in these fields as a chemical derivative of castor oil with its own characteristic properties and uses and it is noteworthy that the extract from the former has been submitted by the respondents themselves. 21. A question therefore, arises whether such an ite....