JUDGMENT

Bharucha, J.-These are appeals against orders of the Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal dismissing appeals filed by the present appellants, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), before it.

2. SAIL has a plant at Rourkela which manufactures fertilisers. For such purpose SAIL uses raw naphtha. Raw naphtha was, at the relevant time, excisable at a concessional rate of duty in terms of an exemption notification (No. 187 of 61) dated 23rd December, 1961, as amended from time to time. The concessional rate of duty stated therein was admissible provided -

"(i) it is proved to the satisfaction of an officer not below the rank of an Assistant Collector of Central Excise that such raw naphtha is intended for use in the manufacture of fertiliser; and

(ii) the procedure set out in Chapter X of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 is followed."

It was the case of the Revenue that a substantial quantity of raw naphtha was not, in fact, used by SAIL in the manufacture of fertiliser. SAIL was, therefore, served with show cause notices demanding amounts of excise duty on quantities of raw naphtha allegedly not utilised for the manufacture of fertilise