Copper exemption exclusion not extended to brass sheets and circles; exemption remained available for brass goods.

Brass sheets and circles classified under Chapter heading 7409.20 were treated as eligible for exemption under Notification No. 8/98-C.E. because the notification excluded only copper sheets and circles used in the manufacture of utensils or handicrafts. The exclusion was held not to extend by implication to brass goods, as brass is a distinct alloy and the goods were admittedly made of brass, not copper alone. On that basis, the exemption remained available and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether brass sheets and circles falling under Chapter heading 7409.20 were entitled to exemption under Notification No. 8/98-C.E. dated 02.06.1998, where the notification excluded only copper sheets and circles.

Analysis: The exclusion in the notification was confined to sheets and circles of copper intended for use in the manufacture of utensils or handicrafts. The decision relied on earlier Tribunal reasoning that such exclusion could not be extended to brass sheets or circles, brass being a distinct alloy and not copper alone. Since the goods in question were admittedly made of brass, the exclusion clause did not operate against them.

Conclusion: The brass sheets and circles were eligible for the exemption, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The exemption granted by the appellate authority was upheld and the Revenue appeal was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption notification excluding only copper goods cannot be extended by implication to brass goods, where the goods are admittedly made of brass and not copper alone.

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