1999 (8) TMI 66 - SC - Central Excise

Supreme Court rules duty cannot be levied on single ply straw board used for manufacturing multiple ply board

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the lower authorities and the Tribunal regarding the levying of duty of excise on single ply straw board used for ... Whether the duty of excise is leviable under the provisions of the Central Excise Act on the quantities of single ply straw board manufactured and cleared without payment of duty for manufacture of multiple ply straw board/straw board of higher D.G. in the same factory of production? Held that:- We are in agreement with the view expressed by the Collector (Appeals) on the interpretation of Tariff Item 17, which has been approved by the Vice President (J), with whom the Member (Technical) has concurred. That being the position, the reversal of the decision of the Bombay High Court (1987 (12) TMI 34 - HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY) by this Court in Babubhai (1990 (12) TMI 76 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA)), is not relevant and the same cannot be pressed into service to upset the decision of the Tribunal that both the single ply and multiple ply straw boards answer to the description of straw boards and multiple straw boards cannot be considered as paste boards even in terms of the definition given in the ISI cited by the Revenue. Appeal dismissed. Issues:Levying duty of excise on single ply straw board used for manufacturing multiple ply straw board within the same factory.Analysis:The case involved the question of whether duty of excise is applicable on single ply straw board used for manufacturing multiple ply straw board within the same factory. The respondents, manufacturers of paper boards, cleared a portion of single ply boards for manufacturing multiple ply straw boards within the factory. The Revenue issued a show cause notice demanding duty on the single ply straw boards used for this purpose. The Assistant Collector found no essential difference in identity between the single ply and multiple ply straw boards, concluding that duty cannot be imposed on the single ply straw boards used in the manufacturing process.The Revenue appealed the Assistant Collector's decision to the Collector of Central Excise (Appeals), who also dismissed the appeal. The Appellate Authority noted that the tariff description did not distinguish between single ply and multiple ply straw boards and charging duty on both would result in double levy. The appeal was subsequently dismissed.Further appealing to the Tribunal, a three-member Bench considered the matter. One Technical Member found that both single ply and multiple ply straw boards fell under the description of straw boards and could not be considered as paste boards. Reference was made to a previous Tribunal decision and a Bombay High Court judgment. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, upholding the decision of the lower authorities.The Revenue argued before the Supreme Court that the Tribunal's decision should be set aside as the Bombay High Court judgment relied upon had been overruled by the Court. However, the Court upheld the interpretation of Tariff Item 17 by the lower authorities and the Tribunal. The Court found that the reversal of the Bombay High Court decision was not relevant to the case at hand, leading to the dismissal of the appeal with no order as to costs.