Tariff classification of packing kraft hardsized turns on technical characteristics, not marketing name; specific board entry applies.

Packing kraft hardsized was classifiable as paper board under Item 17(3) of the Central Excise Tariff because its structure consisted of three layers of the same basic furnish and the bitumen used was only a small sizing ingredient in the middle layer. The presence of that sizing did not move the product to the residuary Item 17(4), since residuary classification applies only when a product does not fit a specific description. The absence of a market description as pulp board was not decisive, and the lower authorities' reasoning was insufficient. The product therefore fell within Item 17(3) and not Item 17(4), in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the product described as packing kraft hardsized was classifiable under Item 17(3) of the Central Excise Tariff as paper board or under Item 17(4) as all other kinds of paper and paper boards not otherwise specified.

Analysis: The product consisted of three layers of the same basic furnish, with bitumen present only as a small sizing component in the middle layer. The presence of such sizing did not convert the material into a residuary product under Item 17(4), nor did the absence of marketing description as pulp board control the legal classification. Item 17(3) covered packing and wrapping paper, pulp board and other sorts of board, and the residuary Item 17(4) could be used only when the product did not fit within the more specific descriptions. On the facts, the substance and structure of the product brought it within the broader class of board, and the reasoning adopted by the lower authorities was found insufficient.

Conclusion: The product was classifiable under Item 17(3) and not under Item 17(4); the appeal was allowed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a product answers to the technical characteristics of a board and fits within a specific tariff description, a minor sizing ingredient does not justify classification under a residuary entry merely because the product is marketed under a different commercial name.

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