1997 (7) TMI 343

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....om 1-6-1984 to 30-10-1984. 1.2 It is the contention of the appellants herein that though the Jute Manufactures Cess Act, 1983 came into force on 1-5-1984, Jute Manufactures Cess Rules, 1984 which provided for the machinery in respect of collection/realisation of the Cess were notified only on 15-9-1984 and came into effect on 1-10-1984. In the absence of the machinery for collection of Cess, no Cess could be leviable under the terms of the Cess Act. They also suggested that a portion of demand was hit by limitation under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act, 1944. These very contentions were raised by the appellants before the lower appellate authority whose findings are reproduced below for proper appreciation :- "4. I hav....

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....ad as follows :- "3. Levy and collection of cess on jute manufactures produced in India. - (1) There shall be levied and collected by way of cess for the purposes of the Jute Manufactures Development Council Act, 1983, on every article of jute manufacture specified in column 2 of the Schedule and produced in India, a duty of excise at such rate not exceeding the rate specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 thereof, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify : Provided that until such rate is specified by the Central Government, the duty of excise shall be levied and collected at the rate specified in the corresponding entry in column 4 of the Schedule. (2) The duty of excise l....

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....y be, apply in relation to the levy and collection of the duty of excise on jute manufactures under this Act. It is, therefore, apparent that proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 3 immediately brings into force the rates of Cess provided in the Schedule to the Jute Manufactures Cess Act, 1983 and the levy becomes enforceable immediately on the commencement of the Act i.e. with effect from 1-5-1984. It is also not correct on the part of the appellants' Counsel to state that there is no machinery provision for collection of Cess. As rightly pointed out by the learned SDR, in the absence of the Rules, the machinery provisions are also provided in sub-section (4) of Section 3 i.e. the machinery provisions of Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.....