Product classification for tax exemption must rest on actual composition, not supplier certificates, where fibre foam is excluded.

The exclusion of fibre foam from the S.R.O. No. 432/91 exemption turned on the actual nature of the assessee's product, not on a broad classification of rubberised coir products. A certificate from the sole selling agents was held insufficient to conclusively establish composition or character, and the authorities were expected to examine the product itself or collect primary evidence through inspection and similar material. The later reference to entry 111 and the explanation inserted by the Kerala Finance Act, 1992 was irrelevant to the assessment year concerned. The assessment and appellate orders were set aside and the matter remitted for fresh assessment on proper evidence.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's product was fibre foam so as to be excluded from the exemption under S.R.O. No. 432/91, and whether the assessment orders could stand without examining the actual product.

Analysis: The relevant question was not whether the assessee's goods broadly fell within rubberised coir products, but whether the goods manufactured and sold were fibre foam, because fibre foam was specifically excluded from the exemption notification. The assessment authorities and the appellate authorities relied mainly on a certificate issued by the sole selling agents, but that certificate was not sufficient to conclusively establish the true nature of the product. The proper course was to examine the product itself or direct inspection and collect primary material to determine its real composition and character. The later reference to entry 111 and the explanation inserted by the Kerala Finance Act, 1992 was held irrelevant for the assessment year in question.

Conclusion: The orders of the assessing authority and the appellate authorities were set aside on this issue, and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after allowing the assessee to adduce evidence that the product was not fibre foam and after determining the product on proper materials.

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