Per Shri Jain :

The appellant company herein undertook crushing to tobacco leaves, stems, stalks and butts and they convert them into powder form. Question involved in this appeal is whether the tobacco powder so obtained as mentioned above is liable to duty or not under Chapter 24 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. The appellants' contention is that it falls under 2401.00 as unmanufactured tobacco which carries the nil rate of duty whereas the contention of the lower authorities is that it falls under Tariff Heading 2404.90. In order to appreciate the contention of both sides, we reproduce the relevant Tariff Headings:-

2. We also reproduce below the definition of manufacture given in Section 2(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as also the specific definition in relation to tobacco, as mentioned in the Judgment reported in 1990 (48) ELT - 115 at para 1'2:-

"12. The relevant portion of amended Section 2(f) of the