IMPORTANT POINT
Oil cakes and rice bran cannot be termed to be animal feed warranting invocation of Heading 21 of the Export Tariff under the Customs Act.

JUDGMENT

Banerjee, J.-This batch of appeals against the order of Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) pertain to classification of de-oiled rice bran extraction, niger seed extraction of topioca chips and sesame seed extractions as animal feed falling under Tariff Heading No.21 of the Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The core question thus relates to the factum of export duty being leviable thereon during the relevant period -CEGAT has answered that since these products are only ingredients of animal feed and not animal feed by themselves, the same would not come within the ambit of the term animal feed as detailed in the statute.

2. Shri Mukul Rohtagi, the learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the appellant, very strongly contended that differentiation, there might be as regards the product, but the factum of the product being an ingredient or a supplement to the animal feed would definitely bring it within the scope of "Heading 21" of the Customs Tariff Act - "Heading 21" does not, in fact, differentiate between the ingredients of animal feed and an animal feed neither the entire Tariff Act introduced such a differentiation but the factum of the same being a part of the whole, the same cannot escape the export duty.

3. Admittedly, the contextual facts depict that these are ingredients of animal feed and it is on this score the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the ingredient does not by themselves become an animal feed unless the same is mixed with some other elements and since the statutory requirement for levy of duty is animal feed, in order to have the export duty attributed thereto, question of the same being not within the ambit of the item does not and cannot arise.

4. Be it recorded that the term animal feed has not been defined in the Tariff Act and as such we are left with no alternative excepting noting the ordinary dictionary meaning of the word or the user and understanding of the word in common parlance. In IS 9703-1980 it is found in para 0.2 as below:-

"In the field of animal feeds manufacturing industry a large number of feeding stuffs (ingredients) are utilised, which may be by-products of other industries and also subjected to certain processing before utilisation".

IS 9703 thus recognises a distinction between the feeding stuffs (ingredients) and animal feed. The understanding of the Indian Standard Institution, as referred in IS 9703, thus goes to suggest that ingredients by them selves cannot be termed to be animal feed- It may be a component or ingredient or a basic stuff, but it cannot be termed to be animal feed. A very common example on this score remains that of oil cakes - whereas oil cakes are used as protein supplement in livestock food stuffs and mixed with the animal feed, oil cakes by themselves cannot be termed to be an animal feed, since animal feed not only consists of its ingredients but the total bulk in form, shape and size which would feed an animal. Animal feed thus cannot be an ingredient or a part of the feed but in its entirety and as a whole taken together with even vitamins and calcium mix.

5. The whole substance thus is the mix and not any specific item as such. Reference has been made to the decision of this Court in Sun Export Corporation, Bombay v. Collector of Customs, Bombay & Anr.1 wherein this Court recorded with concurrence the observations of the Gujarat High Court in the case of Glaxo Laboratories (India) Ltd. v. State of Gujarat2 to the affect that it cannot be said that animal feed concentrates are not animal feed. In the same manner products which supplement animal feed and which generally added to animal feed are also covered by the generic term animal feed .

6. The situation however, is not the same in the instant matter. In the case of Sun Exports Corporation (supra), it was animal feed and animal feed supplements and by reason of the exemption notification for animal feed, this Court came to a de