Explanatory provision cannot curtail exemption scope; actual container cost must still be assessed for non-standard sizes.

An explanatory amendment fixing standard costs for specified metal container sizes did not narrow the substantive exemption for the cost of containers under the notification. The provision was intended to avoid case-by-case valuation for listed sizes, not to deny relief where containers of other sizes were used. In such cases, the authority must determine the actual container cost on the available material and extend the exemption if otherwise admissible. The departmental circular supported this construction, and the impugned orders denying the benefit solely because the containers were of different sizes were unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Explanation introduced by Notification No. 191/83 dated 8-7-1983 to Notification No. 34/83 dated 1-3-1983 restricted the exemption only to goods packed in metal containers of the sizes specifically mentioned in the Explanation, or whether the exemption to the cost of containers remained available even where the containers were of other sizes.

Analysis: The exemption under the notification was directed to the cost of metal containers used in packing the goods. The Explanation was introduced to fix standard costs for certain specified container sizes so as to avoid case-by-case determination by the adjudicating authority. That explanatory provision was not intended to cut down the substantive exemption or to confine it only to the listed container sizes. Where the containers used were of different sizes, the authority was still required to determine the actual cost on the available materials and extend the exemption accordingly. The departmental circular also supported this construction.

Conclusion: The Explanation did not limit the exemption to the specified container sizes, and the benefit could not be denied merely because the containers used were of other sizes.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were unsustainable and the appeal succeeded on the interpretation of the exemption notification.

Ratio Decidendi: An explanatory provision fixing standard values for specified goods does not curtail the substantive scope of an exemption notification unless it clearly evinces such an intention; where the actual goods fall outside the standardised categories, the authority must determine the relevant value on the evidence and extend the exemption if otherwise admissible.

---