Printed cigarette labels classifiable as paper labels, not packing containers, under the amended tariff structure.

Printed labels used in cigarette packing were treated as flat printed paper sleeves on the cigarette pouch, not as cartons, boxes, cases or other packing containers. The amended tariff structure after the Finance Act, 1988 was read with the earlier Supreme Court finding that the product was not a printed carton. On that basis, Heading 4819 90, which covered packing containers, did not fit the goods described in the show-cause notice, while the assessee's claimed heading for paper or paperboard labels was consistent with the product's character. The department's classification was therefore rejected and the assessee's classification accepted.

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Issues: Whether the goods described as printed labels used in cigarette packing were classifiable under Heading 4819 90 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, or under Heading 4821 00 as claimed by the assessee.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the effect of the amended tariff structure after the Finance Act, 1988 and the earlier judicial determination that the product was not a carton or box. The goods were found to be a flat piece of printed paper used as a sleeve on the cigarette pouch, and the prior Supreme Court ruling had already negatived classification of the product as a printed carton. In the amended tariff, the heading invoked by the department was treated as relating to cartons, boxes, cases, bags and other packing containers, while the assessee's claimed heading covered paper or paperboard labels. Since the product did not answer the description of the heading proposed in the show-cause notice, the claimed classification could not be displaced.

Conclusion: The goods were not classifiable under Heading 4819 90 as proposed by the department and the assessee's classification was accepted.

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