Strict construction of exemption notifications supported duty relief for brass sheets made from scrap and old brass vessels.

Brass sheets manufactured from old, condemned and damaged brass vessels and market scrap were treated as covered by the exemption under Notification No. 5/98-C.E. The Tribunal compared that notification with the similarly worded Notification No. 3/2001-CE and applied the earlier view that goods made from such scrap fall within the exemption when the notification's plain language so permits. It also reiterated that exemption notifications must be construed strictly according to their wording. On that basis, the brass sheets were held exempt and the Revenue's appeals were rejected.

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Issues: Whether brass sheets manufactured from old, condemned and damaged brass vessels and scrap were entitled to exemption under Notification No. 5/98-C.E. dated 02.06.1998.

Analysis: The exemption was examined by comparing the wording of Notification No. 5/98-C.E. with the similarly worded Notification No. 3/2001-CE. The brass sheets in question were not manufactured from pure copper sheets, but from old brass vessels and scrap purchased from the market. The Tribunal also followed the earlier view that goods manufactured from such scrap fell within the exemption, and held that exemption notifications must be construed strictly according to their wording.

Conclusion: The brass sheets were held exempt and the Revenue's appeals were rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the wording of an exemption notification covers the goods by its plain terms, and the goods are manufactured from scrap rather than from the non-exempt material contemplated by the notification, the exemption must be granted according to the notification's language.

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