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1. By order dated 10-2-1977, the third-respondent demanded of the petitioner duty on certain quantity of bagasse used as fuel during the period between 1-3-1975 and 29-4-1975. The petitioner would contend that bagasse is not a manufactured product so as to be an excisable good under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (Central Act 1 of 1944, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'. The petitioner would also claim exemption under Notification No. 58 of 1975, dated 1-3-1975 as amended by Notification No. 77 of 1975, dated 6-3-1975, on the ground that bagasse must be characterised only as on intermediate goods or component part of any goods. Both these contentions were not accepted by the third-respondent. The petitioner preferred an appeal to the second-respondent and that was also not fruitful. There was a further revision to the first-respondent and that was rejected by the order dated 11-4-1979, impugned in this Writ Petition.

4. Secondly, learned counsel for the petitioner would contend that as per the notification referred to above, bagasse should be held to be an intermediate goods or the component part of any goods. This submission also been manufactured by the petitioner is sugar. 'Intermediate good or component part of any good' could only mean a product or a compound which results in the course of manufacture of the final product and goes to make the component for the final product and certainly not an independent by-product as in the case of bagasse. Bagasse is certainly not a component part of sugar as such. Equally so, it is not a product which results in the intermediate stage in the course of manufacturing the final product so as to merge with the final product as such.