Strict exemption construction bars melamine faced particle boards from treatment as unveneered particle boards under the notification.

Melamine faced particle boards are commercially and functionally distinct from raw or unveneered particle boards, because the melamine facing gives the product a finished, smooth and polished surface. In construing exemption notifications, the claimant must bring itself clearly within the plain terms of the entry, and any ambiguity is resolved against extension of the exemption. On that approach, the expression "unveneered particle boards" in Item 6 of Notification No. 55 of 1979 cannot be expanded to cover melamine faced particle boards, which remain outside the exemption.

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Issues: Whether melamine faced particle boards are covered by the expression "unveneered particle boards" in Item 6 of the table appended to Notification No. 55 of 1979 and are therefore exempt from duty.

Analysis: The relevant classification depends on how the product is understood in commercial circles and in common parlance. On the manufacturing process and the character of the goods, melamine faced particle boards are not the same as raw or unveneered particle boards. The melamine facing gives a distinct finished product with a smooth and polished surface, and the trade would not regard both as identical goods. In construing an exemption, the provision must be strictly applied when the claimant seeks to bring itself within it, and any doubt at that stage operates against the claimant. The expression in the notification is plain and specific and cannot be expanded to include a different product.

Conclusion: Melamine faced particle boards are not covered by the exemption for unveneered particle boards and remain outside Item 6 of the notification.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was liable to be dismissed, and the duty demand against the appellant stood confirmed in law.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim to exemption must be established clearly, and where the exemption entry is plain, it cannot be enlarged by interpretation to include a commercially distinct product not covered by its ordinary meaning.

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