TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1964 (10) TMI 111
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.... for licenses in accordance with the provisions of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955, and the rules made thereunder for the production of the articles required by them and those applications used to be granted. But when they applied for licences for the year 1963-64, licenses were granted only to a limited extent for certain items and license was totally denied for certain items. It was in those circumstances that the earlier writ applications, O. P. No. 891 and O. P. No. 1964, were moved in this Court. 2a. Licenses were issued only to limited extent on the basis of two orders Exts. P 4 and P 5 passed by the Board of Revenue, the 2nd respondent to this writ application. I am assuming for the purposes of these cases, and it is also agreed by counsel, that the Board of Revenue has the powers of the Excise Commissioner mentioned in the rules framed under the Act. 3. In Ext. P 4, it is said : There have been allegations that the actual manufacture of spirituous medicinal preparations (restricted and non-restricted) are far in excess of the actual requirements of the Government, Private and Charitable Medical Institutions and private dispensa....
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....nufactured by the Pharmaceuticals concerned after examination of individual applications to the Board. The pharmaceutical licensees will have to adjust, their manufacturing programme on the above basis. No import of any tincture or other official pharmacopoeial preparations will be permitted into the State. The above orders will not however affect the manufacture or import of patent or proprietary preparations. It is clear from the above order that the manufacturers will be allowed to produce only the 15 items mentioned therein. This order of the Board of Revenue was modified later, apparently on the representations made by those engaged in the preparation of medicinal preparations, on 23-7-1963, and the copy, of that order is Ext. P 5. By this Order 48 items have been allowed to be manufactured. These are classified into two groups, A and B. There are 25 items in the A group and 23 items in group B. There is a further provision that the Board may permit manufacture or import of preparations not included in the lists after consultation with the Director of Health Services or the Drugs Controller. I am not referring to this order in detail as it is mentioned in that orde....
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....en made on the validity of any of the provisions of the statute. 9. The enquiry must therefore be confined to an examination of the provisions of the Act and the Rules to find out whether there is provision therein enabling the 2nd respondent to impose the restrictions contained in Exts. P4 and P5. 10. I need refer only to those Sections and Rules which the learned Advocate General relied on. These are Section 6 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955, Rule 84 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Rules, 1956. I extract Section 6 as well as Rule 84 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act and Rules. 6. Certain operations to be subject to licences.--(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, provide that from such date as may be specified in the notification, no person shall engage in the production or manufacture of any dutiable goods or of any specified component parts or ingredients of such goods or of specified containers of such goods or of labels of such containers except under the authority and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted under this Act....
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.... power to impose the restrictions of the nature that have been imposed by Exts. P4 and P5. It is rightly argued that I should not refer to the preamble of the statute or apply any general theory for whittling down the scope and the effect of these provisions. Reference was made to a decision of the Privy Council in Emperor v. Benoari Lal Sarma, which is a judgment in appeal from the decision of the Federal Court of India reported in Emperor v. Benoari Lal Sarma, The Lord Chancellor approved the judgment of the Federal Court Judge, Rowland and said : The question whether the Ordinance is intra vires or ultra vires does not depend on considerations of jurisprudence or of policy. The ambit and scope of a Section should not be limited by reference to general jurisprudence or principles or policy. And it is equally clear that a preamble cannot control a Section the ambit and scope of which is clear from the words used. 12. But the question in this case in whether it is possible to accept the contention of the Advocate General that the Section, the Rule and the Form referred to are clear in that they enable restrictions of the nature in question being imposed. I am unable ....
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....nd the contents of the form of licence Form A L-1. So understood there is nothing whatever in the provisions relied on by the Advocate General which is not in consonance with the scheme and purpose of the Act as discernible from the provisions thereof, to assure the proper levy and collection of duty on the dutiable goods. 13. Rule 60 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Rules, 1958 divides the articles that could be manufactured into two categories, 'restricted' and 'unrestricted'. Rule 59 indicates that the articles to be manufactured must conform to one of the two categories mentioned in that Rule. (i) Official allopathic preparations which are made strictly in accordance with the formulae given in the official current editions of the undermentioned Pharmacopoeia. (1) The British Pharmacopoeia, (2) The British Pharmaceutical Codex. (3) The Indian Pharmacopoeia. (4) The United States Pharmacopoeia. (5) The National Formulary of the United States. (6) Any other Pharmacopoeia that may be recognised under the Drugs Act, 1940 by the Government of India. (7) Veterinary Codex ....