All these writ petitions can be dealt with in a common judgment since all of them raise an identical issue as to the classification, though, of course the prayers may vary depending upon the circumstances of the case. I will briefly refer to the facts in W.P. 10412 of 1985 to highlight the point involved. The writ petitioner is a company having its office in Madras. The company is a contractor for Grane Betel-nut powder. There is no manufacture or preparation. Therefore, it is claimed that no excise duty is leviable.

2.The petitioners were asked to take out a licence for the purpose of excise duty on 10-4-1985, which licence was accordingly taken. The company has furnished a bond under B-2 on the date when it took out a licence to the Superintendent, Central Excise, Madras-1, Dn, for a sum of Rs. 5, 000/- and Rs. 1, 000/- towards deposit as security. Further, they had furnished B-15 bond to the Government binding themselves for Rs. 25, 000/- towards security deposit. The petitioners have paid an excise duty of Rs. 1, 27, 560 to the Excise Department, under protest on various dates.

3.The petitioners' product is called Crane Nut Powder. It is commonly known in Telugu as Cr