Amending Notification further amended by inserting strange condition

By Vijay Kumar

NOTIFICATION No. 23/2011-CE was issued on March 24, 2011 to amend principal Notification No. 3/2006-CE dated 01.03.2006. The said amending Notification reads as follows:

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 3/2006-Central Excise, dated the 1st March, 2006, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, vide number G.S.R. 93(E), dated the 1st March, 2006, namely:-

In the said notification, in the Table,-

(i) for S. No. 10 and the entries relating thereto, the following S. No. and the entries shall be substituted, namely :-

(ii) S. No. 13 and the entries relating thereto shall be omitted;

(iii) S. No. 17 and the entries relating thereto shall be omitted.

Now this Notification is amended to insert an explanation which reads as follows:

Explanation.- Nothing contained in this notification shall apply to food preparations including food preparations containing meat, falling under chapters 16 or 19 (except chapter heading 1905) which are prepared or served in a hotel, restaurant or retail outlet whether or not such food is consumed in such hotel, restaurant or retail outlet.

One wonders what effect this ‘explanation' will have on this amending Notification which makes no mention or reference to ‘food preparations'.

NOW THE MOOT QUESTION IS WHETHER THE FOOD PREPARATIONS ARE EXEMPTED OR NOT.

Strange are the ways of Board's Notification manufacturing factory.

Notification No. 36/2011-CE, Dated: July 25, 2011