Concessional duty on match boxes was not lost merely because each box contained fewer than 50 matches.

Concessional duty under Notification No. 43/81 was available even where matches were cleared in boxes containing fewer than 50 matches, because the reference to gross boxes of 50 matches each identified the basis of the exemption rather than imposing a strict condition that every box must contain exactly 50 matches. A restrictive construction denying the benefit on that ground was unwarranted, though the concession could be denied if the number of matches exceeded 50 per box. The denial of the exemption was therefore incorrect.

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Issues: Whether the concessional duty benefit under Notification No. 43/81 was available to matches cleared in boxes containing less than 50 matches.

Analysis: The notification granted exemption from duty in excess of Rs. 1.60 per gross boxes of 50 matches each, subject to conditions. The expression relating to boxes of 50 matches was construed as identifying the basis of the concession, not as requiring denial of the benefit where the box contained fewer than 50 matches. A restrictive reading that confined the concession only to boxes containing exactly 50 matches was found unwarranted, though the benefit could be denied where the number of matches exceeded 50 per box.

Conclusion: The respondents were entitled to the benefit of the notification, and the denial of the concession was incorrect.

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