JUDGMENT

Bharucha, J.-These are appeals against orders of the Customs, Excise and Gold Control Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi.

2. These periods involved in the appeals are : 1st April, 1974 to 31st December, 1982 in Civil Appeal No. 5437 of 1990 and January 1983 to April, 1984 in Civil Appeal Nos. 5941-43 of 1990.

3. By an Exemption Notification (No. 187/61) issued under the provisions of Rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, the Central Government exempted raw naptha falling under Item No. 6 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, from the payment of excise duty in excess of Rs. 4.36 per kilolitre at 15 degree Centigrade. The Exemption Notification applied "in respect of such Raw Naptha as is used in the manufacture of Ammonia provided such Ammonia is used elsewhere in the manufacture of fertilisers" and the procedure set out in Chapter-X of the said Rules was followed.

4. The appellants manufacture urea, which is a fertiliser, at a plant at Kalol in the State of Gujarat and utilise for the purpose raw naptha. The raw naptha was obtained at the concessional rate of duty and was used for producing ammonia which, in turn, was used, partly, directly in the urea plant