Packing weight excluded from chewing tobacco exemption slab; only tobacco weight counts for the lower-rate notification.

For Notification No. 35/79 granting partial exemption to chewing tobacco, the weight of the sachet and wrapper is not included when determining whether the product falls within the one-kilogram lower-rate slab. The exemption notification was construed strictly but reasonably in light of its object, and its wording referred only to the weight of chewing tobacco itself. Although packing cost could be included in valuation under Section 4 for assessing product value, that did not justify adding packing weight to the tobacco weight for exemption purposes. The petitioner therefore could not claim the lower rate of duty on the basis of the packing material being counted in weight.

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Issues: Whether, for the purposes of Notification No. 35/79 granting partial exemption to chewing tobacco, the weight of the sachet and wrapper is to be included in determining whether one kilogram of chewing tobacco falls within the lower rate slab.

Analysis: Notification No. 35/79 was an exemption notification and had to be construed strictly, while still receiving a reasonable interpretation consistent with its object. The value of the product had to be computed under Section 4 of the Act, which justified inclusion of the cost of the sachet and wrapper in value. But the notification used the expression one kilogram of chewing tobacco, and there was nothing in its language to show that packing material was to be counted in the weight of the tobacco itself. The Court found no inconsistency in excluding packing weight for the notification while including packing cost for valuation purposes.

Conclusion: The weight of the sachet and wrapper is not to be included; the petitioner was not entitled to the lower rate of duty on that basis.

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