Judgment

DAS GUPTA, J. : These three appeals are against the orders of the Punjab High Court allowing three petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution. The three petitions are by three different companies manufacturing vegetable products Known as "Vanaspati" and they challenge the legality of the imposition of excise duty on what was called by the taxing authorities as the manufacture of "refined oil" from raw oil. These petitions raise a common question of law as regards the liability to excise duty under Item 23 of the first schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act 1 of 1944, on similar facts. The petitions were heard together and disposed of by a common judgment allowing the appeals and directing the excise authorities to withdraw the impugned demand of excise duty on the petitioners. The present appeals have also been heard together.

2. The facts alleged in the three separate petitions filed by the three petitioners (the respondents herein), the manufacturers of Vanaspati, are practically the same. It is said that for the purpose of manufacturing Vanaspati the petitioners purchased groundnut and til oil from the open market or directly from the manufacturers of such oil. Th