Fire-proof plywood exclusion defeats marine plywood concession after chemical treatment and accepted fire-resistant classification.

Chemically treated marine plywood, after copper chrome arsenic treatment, was held to fall within the exclusion for fire-proof plywood under Notification No. 55/79. The accepted finding was that the goods satisfied the ISI specification for fire-proof plywood and were commercially distinct from ordinary marine plywood; therefore, they could not claim the marine plywood concessional rate merely because their essential character was said to remain unchanged. The lower authorities' classification was upheld and the claim to assess the goods as marine plywood at the concessional duty rate failed.

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Issues: Whether chemically treated marine plywood, treated with copper chrome and arsenic, was classifiable as fire-proof plywood excluded from the exemption under Notification No. 55/79, or continued to be marine plywood eligible for the concessional rate of duty.

Analysis: The notification granted concessional duty to marine plywood but excluded commercial plywood, including fire-proof plywood, from its scope. The finding accepted below was that the treated plywood became fire-resistant and satisfied the ISI specification for fire-proof plywood, and that it was distinguishable from ordinary marine plywood. On that basis, the treated goods fell within the excluded category and could not be treated as marine plywood merely because their essential character was said to remain unchanged.

Conclusion: The chemically treated marine plywood was correctly treated as fire-proof plywood excluded from the exemption, and the alternative claim for assessment as marine plywood at 10% ad valorem was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The classification adopted by the lower authorities was upheld and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tariff exemption excludes fire-proof plywood, goods that, on accepted findings, satisfy the fire-proof specification after chemical treatment and are commercially distinct from ordinary marine plywood are not entitled to the marine plywood concession.

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