Packing material classification turns on actual use, not registration nomenclature, for entry tax treatment.

Brown paper used for packing bidis was treated as packing material for entry tax purposes because the statutory definition under the Entry Tax Act was inclusive and depended on actual use in packing, not on a restrictive reading of the schedule. Its description as raw material in the registration certificate did not control its tax character. The fact that brown paper was expressly notified only from 1 October 1978 did not exclude its earlier treatment as packing material where it was in substance used for packing. The material was therefore liable to entry tax as packing material.

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Issues: Whether brown paper used for packing bidis was liable to entry tax as packing material notwithstanding that it was shown as raw material in the registration certificate and was not expressly included in the definition of packing material during the relevant assessment period.

Analysis: Section 2(ff) of the Entry Tax Act defined packing material by reference to goods specified in Serial No. 15 of Part IV of Schedule II to the Sales Tax Act or notified thereunder and used in packing or as containers. The definition and the schedule were treated as inclusive and illustrative rather than exhaustive. Brown paper, though notified expressly only from 1 October 1978, was held not to be excluded for the earlier assessment period because it was in substance used as packing material. Its description as raw material in the registration certificate did not alter its actual use.

Conclusion: Brown paper was liable to entry tax as packing material, and the question was answered against the assessee and in favour of the department.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory definition of packing material is inclusive and the goods are actually used for packing, their tax classification depends on their real use and not on nomenclature in a registration certificate or on later express notification.

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