Supreme Court affirms stencil skin classification under Tariff Item 68 for excise duty.

The Supreme Court upheld the classification of stencil skin under the residuary Tariff Item 68 for excise duty, as decided by the Tribunal, and dismissed the appeals. No costs were awarded in the case.

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Issues involved: Classification of stencil skin for excise duty - applicability of Tariff Advice and Trade Notice.

In the judgment, the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal classified stencil skin under the residuary Tariff Item 68 for excise duty, not under Item 17(2) covering paper and paper board. The Tribunal relied on a Tariff Advice stating coated paper for making stencil paper was not excisable as it was an intermediate product not bought or sold. A Trade Notice from 1976 treated stencil paper as stationery, excluding it from Item 17.

The Revenue argued, citing a previous Supreme Court judgment, that Trade Notices and Tariff Advices were not binding in interpreting Tariff Schedule items. The Revenue contended that regardless of these documents, the classification of stencil skin should be decided based on whether it fell under Item 68 as per the Tribunal or under Item 17(2) as argued by the Revenue.

The Court emphasized that Tariff Advices and Trade Notices do not bind the Tribunal or Courts, and while an assessee can challenge their correctness, the Revenue cannot argue against their terms. Therefore, the Court dismissed the appeals based on this ground alone.

Judgment: The Supreme Court upheld the classification of stencil skin under the residuary Tariff Item 68 for excise duty, as decided by the Tribunal, and dismissed the appeals. No costs were awarded in the case.

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