Commercial classification of bottle stoppers excluded from Eleventh Schedule items, preserving investment allowance for manufacturing machinery.

Commercial classification of rubber stoppers or caps for bottle coverings was assessed by their practical understanding in trade. The court noted that the products were neither crown corks nor pilfer-proof caps, since they were easily removable, lacked a metal strip or casing, and did not make bottles tamper-proof. Reading "other fittings of cork, rubber, polyethylene or any other material" in context with "crown corks" and "pilfer-proof caps," the expression was held not to extend to these goods. As a result, the stoppers/caps did not fall within item 27 or item 28 of the Eleventh Schedule, and investment allowance on machinery used to manufacture them was available.

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Issues: Whether rubber stoppers or caps used to cover bottles fall within item 27 or item 28 of the Eleventh Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961, so as to deny investment allowance on the machinery used for their manufacture.

Analysis: The classification had to be determined from the standpoint of the commercial and practical understanding of the goods. The rubber stoppers/caps were not shown to be crown corks, nor were they pilfer-proof caps in the sense contemplated by the Schedule. They were easily removable, not insulated with a metal strip or casing, and did not render the bottles tamper-proof. In that context, the expression "other fittings of cork, rubber, polyethylene or any other material" had to be read with the associated words "crown corks" and "pilfer-proof caps", and could not be extended to cover the subject product.

Conclusion: The rubber stoppers/caps did not fall under item 27 or item 28 of the Eleventh Schedule, and the assessee was entitled to investment allowance.

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