Exemption notification scope and product classification: polyester staple fibre covered, but broader customs duty reading rejected.

An exemption notification using the phrase "duty of customs" was construed in line with the earlier connected judgment, and the broader reading that it extended beyond basic customs duty was rejected. The notification was also interpreted on the description "polyester fibre"; on the material considered, polyester staple fibre was treated as falling within that description because staple length was understood as a normal commercial attribute of polyester fibre, while polyester fibre waste was said to fall under a separate residual category. The writ petitions therefore failed on both contentions, and the claimed exemption was denied.

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Issues: (i) Whether the expression "duty of customs" in the exemption notification extended to basic customs duty as well as additional and auxiliary customs duty; (ii) whether imported polyester staple fibre fell within the description "polyester fibre" in the notification.

Issue (i): Whether the expression "duty of customs" in the exemption notification extended to basic customs duty as well as additional and auxiliary customs duty.

Analysis: The expression used in the notification was construed in the light of the earlier judgment delivered in the connected batch of matters, and the contention that it covered more than basic customs duty was rejected.

Conclusion: The issue was decided against the petitioners.

Issue (ii): Whether imported polyester staple fibre fell within the description "polyester fibre" in the notification.

Analysis: On the material before it, the Court accepted that staple length was an inherent feature of polyester fibre in commercial use, and that polyester fibre waste alone would fall in the separate category "all others". On that basis, polyester staple fibre was held to answer the description "polyester fibre".

Conclusion: The issue was decided against the petitioners.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions failed on both contentions, and the petitioners were not entitled to the exemption claimed.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption notification using the expression "polyester fibre" covers polyester staple fibre where commercial understanding shows staple length to be a normal attribute of polyester fibre, and the broader phrase "duty of customs" does not by itself extend the exemption beyond its accepted scope.

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