TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1995 (5) TMI 131
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....llector of Central Excise, on 27-10-1986. However, the Preventive Officers of the department paid a surprise visit on 12-11-1986 for checks. It was found that the assessee were manufacturing Castor Oil and its various derivatives viz. : (i) fatty acids, distilled and undistilled. (ii) Dehydrated castor oil (monomeric and polymeric). (iii) Blown castor oil (iv) Glycerine (v) Distillation pitch etc. all falling under sub-headings of Chapter 15 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. The officers noticed that the assessee was manufacturing Castor Oil by crushing castor seeds. The Castor Oil was subsequently used in the manufacture of Glycerine falling under Chapter 15.06 of the Central Excise Tariff in the same factory. They were obtaining the Castor Oil duly manufactured by them in their glycerine plant through pipe line. Then the castor oil was taken for splitting process. This splitting process consists of addition of water to oil, wherein, higher pressure steam is injected. Thus, bringing out separation of glycerine from oil. After splitting, the mass is allowed to separate. The upper layer is decanted as fatty acid, while the lower layer is further evaporated to obtain crude gl....
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.... suppression or mis-declaration in the case and hence he refrained himself from imposing penalty. 4. We have heard Shri V. Lakshmikumaran, ld. Advocate for the appellant and Shri Somesh Arora, ld. JDR for the Revenue. Reiterating the grounds of appeal, ld. Advocate relied on the following rulings : i. Ferlitizers Ltd. v. C.C.E. - 1990 (50) E.L.T. 468 ii. C.C.E., Jaipur v. M/s. Jaipur Oil Products - Order No. 445/90-C, dated 30-4-1990 iii. C.C.E., Jaipur v. M/s. Mehta Vegetable Products (P) Ltd. - Order Nos. 481 & 482/89-C, dated 18-9-1989 5. Reiterating the findings of the Addl. Collector, ld. JDR submitted that the expression of the term "Solvent Extraction Industry" has some commercial understanding. From this understanding alone the situation is required to be approached. The glycerol is an alcohol and it arises in soap industry and being in a nature of alcohol, it is also of soap industry and therefore, the product cannot be said to have arisen in oil industry or of solvent extraction industry. He submitted that merely because the assessee had installed extraction plant or an oil mill plant, would by itself not satisfy the terms of the notification....
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....fore us, is as to whether this process of obtaining glycerine in a separate glycerine plant from Castor Oil, pumped through a pipe line, can be considered as one of "Oil Mill & Solvent Extraction Industry" as stipulated in the notification. The Addl. Collector has held that the product can be manufactured anywhere by any unit and not necessarily by an oil mill and that merely setting up machinery required to manufacture this product has no relevance. The ld. JDR has contended that glycerine is an alcohol and it is obtained out of saponification process, as a by-product in a soap industry and hence cannot be considered as a product of "Oil Mill and by Solvent Extraction Industry". He also submitted that commercial parlance is a factor, which requires to be looked into. However, this point raised by ld. JDR that the product being a by-product of soap industry and in trade, it is not known to have arisen in "Oil Mill and by Solvent Extraction Industry", is a new ground. As can be seen from the controversy before us, the Revenue has not proceeded in this case, on this basis of reasoning. The basis of the Revenue's case, as noted above, is mainly on the basis of manufacturing process an....
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....lvent extraction industry. Hence, the reasoning adopted by the Revenue requires to be negatived. The sole question is as to whether this product has arisen in an `oil mill or solvent extraction industry'. The answer is admittedly yes and hence there is no need to go beyond the terms of the notification and issue before us and hence on the basis of the facts of this case, the benefit of the notification cannot be denied to the appellants. 8. In the case of Fertilizers Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise (supra), the Tribunal has examined the question of grant of exemption of the notification in question to `low fatty free acid oil'. In this case, the rice bran oil is manufactured by solvent extraction method. When rice bran oil is split, 85% crude rice bran fatty oil and some quantity of sweet water is obtained. The sweet water is used for making glycerine. The crude fatty acid is distilled to obtain distilled fatty acid and low FFA oil. Thus, during the manufacture of distilled fatty acid Low FFA oil is obtained as a by-product different from the starting raw-material, its composition, is held by the Tribunal to be different from rice bran oil, as it is known by a different n....
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....serve that R. Norris Shreve and Joseph A. Brink Jr. in their book called `Chemical Process Industries' have classified or categorised oils, fats (including the Products of Solvent Extraction) separately from `soaps and detergents' and under the soap industry they have included glycerin and mentioned as follows :- "2 Glycerin may be produced by a number of different methods, of which the following are important : (i) the saponification of glycerides (Oils and fats) to produce soap, (ii) the recovery of glycerin from the hydrolysis, or splitting of fats and oils to produce fatty acids, and (iii) the chlorination and hydrolysis of propylene and other reactions from petrochemical hydrocarbons." "In recovering glycerin from soap plants, the energy requirements are mostly concerned with heat consumption involved in the unit operations of evaporation and distillation." "Particularly, all natural glycerin is now produced as a co-product of the direct hydrolysis of triglycerides from natural fats and oils." "The growing market for glycerin, and the fact that it was a co-product of soap and dependent upon the latter's production, had been the incentives for research into methods ....
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.... Lajja Ram, Member (T)]. - The point of difference referred to me is whether in the facts and circumstances of the case, the appeal filed by M/s. Jayant Oil Mills Baroda should be allowed as proposed by the Learned Member (Judicial) or the matter should be remanded as proposed by the Learned Vice President. 20. The matter relates to the eligibility of the product `glycerine' to the exemption under Notification No. 115/75-C.E., dated 30-4-1975, as amended. 21. The matter was heard by me on 23-3-1995 when Shri R. Nambirajan, advocate appeared for the appellant. Shri S.P. Singh, JDR represented the respondent 22.Shri.R. Nambirajan, the learned advocate stated that the appellants were engaged in the manufacture of castor oil and other products classifiable under Chapter 15 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as `Tariff'). Glycerine, classifiable under Heading No. 15.06 of the Tariff was produced from the castor oil which was a fixed vegetable Oil and was classifiable under Heading No. 15.03 of the Tariff. The castor oil was not eligible for exemption under Notification No. 115/75-C.E. The glycerine produced from the castor oil was a d....
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.... is a sweetish liquid with a not unpleasant odour; it ranges in colour from yellowish to brown. (2) Obtained from glycerol lyes, it is a pale yellow liquid with an astringent taste and a disagreeable odour. (3) Derived from the residues of soap-making, it is a blackish-yellow liquid with a sweetish flavour (sometimes tasting of garlic, if very impure) and a more or less disagreeable odour. (4) Obtained by catalytic and enzymic saponification, it is generally a liquid of disagreeable taste and odour, containing large quantities of organic substances and mineral matter. Glycerol may be purified : (a)By filtering and decolourising with animal black. (b)By distillation (c)By redistillation  Purified glycerol is odourless, sweet-tasting and is colourless (except that it may be yellowish when the purification by filtration and decolourisation is not complete.)  The heading includes synthetic and chemically pure glycerol, but it excludes glycerol put up as a medicament or with added pharmaceutical substances (Heading 30.03), and perfumed glycerol and glycerol with added cosmetics (Heading 33.06).  This heading also covers glycerol lyes, residues from the....