Precision measuring instruments were classified under Item 68, but micrometers did not qualify as mathematical instruments for exemption.

Micrometers were treated as precision measuring instruments under the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff, because their true character was that of tools for making precise measurements rather than instruments for mathematical operations. The opinion of a management consultant and the Brussels Trade Nomenclature notes were held to offer no assistance in construing the exemption notification. Although the view that micrometers were merely measuring tools was found erroneous, they were still classified as precision measuring instruments and not as mathematical instruments. They were therefore classifiable under Item 68, but did not qualify for exemption under Notification No. 55/75-C.E. dated 1-3-1975.

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Issues: Whether micrometers were classifiable as precision measuring instruments under Item 68 of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff and whether they qualified as mathematical instruments for exemption under Notification No. 55/75-C.E. dated 1-3-1975.

Analysis: The classification depended on the true nature of the goods. The opinion of a management consultant and the notes to the Brussels Trade Nomenclature were held to be of no assistance for interpreting the exemption notification. On the material considered, a micrometer was only an instrument for making precise measurements and not an instrument used for mathematical operations. The finding that micrometers were measuring tools was held to be erroneous, but the goods were nevertheless found to be precision measuring instruments rather than mathematical instruments.

Conclusion: Micrometers were classifiable under Item 68 of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff, but they were not eligible for exemption under Notification No. 55/75-C.E. dated 1-3-1975.

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