JUDGMENT

Dr. ANAND, J.:—This appeal, by special leave, is directed against the judgment and order of the High Court of Delhi in Civil Writ No. 971 of 1978 dated 12-4-1982.

2. The respondent, carries on the business of manufacturing and selling cigarettes and smoking tobacco at its five cigarette factories including one at Saharanpur in the State of U. P. The respondent sells its products to whole-sale buyers or dealers who make further sales to secondary wholesalers from where the products reach the retailers and the consumers. During the period September 1, 1970, to February 28, 1973, the respondents followed the self removal procedure laid down in Chapter VIIA of the Central Excise Rules on payment of excise duty, as the manufacture of cigarettes affects excise duty under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (hereinafter the Act). The case of the respondent in the writ petition was that under a mistake of law regarding the true interpretation of Section 4(a) of the Act, it cleared its products but paid excess excise duty under the impression that the prices charged by the whole-sale dealers to the secondary whole-salers would form the correct basis of assessment and not the pric