M.S.Liberhan, J.

1. This order of ours shall dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 11654,11655,11656,11657,12309,12310,12579,12664 and 13056 of 1989. Since the material facts are common and so are questions of law raised in these petitions, it can be fairly recorded that the petitions raise common questions of law.

2. It is expedient to collate the facts leading up to these Writ Petitions. The facts have been taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 11654 of 1989. Vanaspati is an excisable item. The petitioners are its manufacturers. It can be manufactured by hydrogenation of vegetable oil and subjecting them to various other processes like neutralising, bleaching and deodorisation etc. The oils used in this process are known as traditional oils in the trade and it is so understood by the persons in the trade. The manufacturer of Vanaspati can also use for its manufacture the minor oils like Rice Bran Oil, Mahua Oil, Water-melon seed Oil, Solvent extracted cottonseed Oil etc. They are known as non-traditional oils in the trade amongst the manufacturers and the persons dealing with Vanaspati. Utilising the non- traditional oils for the manufacture of Vanaspati is a time consuming an