Exemption notification interpretation: brass circles from brass sheets were held outside the copper-only exclusion and eligible for nil duty.

Serial No. 198 of Notification No. 6/2000-C.E. granted nil duty to goods under Heading 74.09 and excluded only trimmed or untrimmed copper sheets or circles intended for utensils or handicrafts. Brass circles manufactured from brass sheets were treated as outside that exclusion because the notification referred only to copper, and brass, though an alloy containing copper, was not covered by the express wording. The exemption is to be construed strictly but according to its language, so brass circles were entitled to the benefit of the notification and the resulting duty demand and penalties were held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether brass circles manufactured from brass sheets were entitled to exemption under Serial No. 198 of Notification No. 6/2000-C.E. dated 01-03-2000, and whether the demand of duty and penalties could be sustained.

Analysis: Serial No. 198 granted nil rate of duty to goods under Heading 74.09, excluding only trimmed or untrimmed sheets or circles of copper intended for use in the manufacture of utensils or handicrafts. The products in question were brass circles made from brass sheets and not copper products. The exclusion in the notification was confined to copper, and the distinction between copper and brass, even though brass is an alloy of copper, meant that brass circles did not fall within the excluded category. An exemption notification must be construed strictly but reasonably according to its language, and the wording here did not justify denial of the benefit to brass circles.

Conclusion: The brass circles were covered by the exemption and the demand of duty and penalties was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The order of the lower authorities was set aside and the appeal succeeded with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an exemption notification expressly excludes only copper sheets or circles, brass circles are not covered by the exclusion and cannot be denied the exemption merely because brass is an alloy of copper.

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