1995 (9) TMI 163

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....of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. They filed a Classification List No. 20/3/84 dated 23-7-1984 claiming full exemption of duty on their product `Opthomycetin Eye Drops' in terms of Notification No. 106/80-C.E., dated 19-06-1980 which amended the Notification 116/69-C.E., dated 3-5-1969 under which patent and proprietary medicines falling under Tariff Item 14E and containing Chloramphenicol and its esters for oral and parenteral use were exempted from whole of the duty leviable thereon. Since the medicine in question was sold describing it as "for external use", the Assistant Collector Central Excise passed an order holding that the medicine `Opthomycetin Eye Drops' was not eligible for exemption under Notifica....

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....he judgment of the Supreme Court in Mac Laboratories (Pvt.) Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise, Bombay reported in 1994 (74) E.L.T. 769, wherein it has been held that the expression "parenteral" in the Notification 116/69-C.E., dated 3-5-1969 as amended by Notification 106/80-C.E., dated 19-6-1980 was not confined only to injection but in a broader sense it has to be deemed as including medicines which are applied locally or topically too and which enter the blood stream through mucous membrane or skin even though slowly. He pleaded that the matter being covered in appellants favour by the judgment pronounced by the Apex Court, the appeals may be allowed. 4. On behalf of the respondent, Shri Mewa Singh, SDR took us through the impu....

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....n of drugs by oral mucous membrane producing systemic effects' or oral, `one of the most popular routes of administering drugs in the form of tablets, capsules, mixture, powder, pills, emulsions or rectal' of local or topical, that is, the administration of drug for systemic actions specially in vomiting, unconsciousness and when intestinal absorption is to be avoided. The Government even though it was aware of the word `enteral' decided to use the word `oral' in the Notification obviously so that there may not be any ambiguity. In technical sense sublingual administration may be different from oral but in the common and popular sense a medicine taken sublingually is as much oral as a tablet or capsule or mixture taken by a patient. Similar....