Printed sample folders treated as products of the printing industry, supporting exemption despite their functional use.

Printed sample folders manufactured substantially through printing activity were treated as products of the printing industry for exemption under Notification No. 55/75-C.E. The fact that they were made to a customer's design and served a functional purpose of protecting sample fabric did not change their essential character as printed goods. Communication of knowledge was not a necessary condition for classification as a printing-industry product. On that basis, the denial of exemption was held unjustified, and the folders were considered entitled to the notification benefit.

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Issues: Whether printed sample folders were products of the printing industry and were therefore entitled to exemption under Notification No. 55/75-C.E. dated 1-3-1975.

Analysis: The folders were manufactured through printing activity undertaken by a printer according to the customer's design and were not merely products of the cardboard maker. Their cost was substantially attributable to printing, and their function did not exclude them from being treated as printed products. The requirement of communication of knowledge was not a precondition for classification as a product of the printing industry, and the functional purpose of protecting sample fabric did not alter the essential character of the goods as printed folders.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption was not justified, and the printed sample folders were held entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 55/75-C.E. The appeal was allowed and the impugned order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: A product manufactured substantially through printing activity may qualify as a product of the printing industry for exemption purposes even if its use is primarily functional and not for communication of knowledge.

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