TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1990 (9) TMI 84
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....ARD, ALL SORTS (including pasteboard, millboard, strawboard, cardboard and corrugated board), in or in relation to the manufacture of which any process is ordinarily carried on with the aid of power. (1) Uncoated and coated printing and writing paper (other than poster paper). (2) Paperboard and all other kinds of paper (including paper or paper-boards which have been subjected to various treatments such as coating, impregnating, corrugation, creping and design printing), not elsewhere specified." Under Rule 173(B) of the Central Excise Rules, the company was required to file a classification list in respect of several varieties of papers manufactured. The company filed a classification list on April 2, 1976 and claimed that duty is paya....
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....y in respect of clearance of tracing paper for the period commencing from May 1, 1976 and ending with February 28, 1977. The company filed reply to the show cause notice on April 27, 1977 contending that the tracing paper is used for the purpose of tracing and drawing of designs of technical nature with explanatory notes and other material is also written on such tracing paper and, therefore, the manufacture of tracing paper is liable to payment of excise duty under Item No. 17(1) of the First Schedule. The company also pleaded that if there is any doubt as to the classification of tracing paper, then benefit must go to the tax-payer. 3. The Asstt. Collector of Central Excise, Pune, by order dated December 24, 1977 rejected the claim made ....
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....racing paper would fall under Tariff Item No. 17(2) and not under Item No. 17(1). The learned counsel urged that tracing paper is used for the purpose of tracing and the expression 'tracing' falls within the expression 'writing' set out in Tariff Item No. 17(1). The learned counsel urged that the fiscal entry clearly indicates the purpose for which the paper is to be used and i.e. either printing or writing and tracing is also a part of writing. Mr. Hidayatullah also submitted that the authorities below were in error in ignoring the three affidavits filed on behalf of the company to establish how tracing paper is considered by traders in the market. The learned counsel also urged that the burden was on the Department to establish that duty ....
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....cing paper can fall under Tariff Item No. 17(1) provided it is used for the purpose of printing or writing. The authorities below have concluded that tracing paper is not primarly used for printing, even though in some cases tracing paper may be used for the purpose or printing. We do not find any infirmity in this conclusion. It is then necessary to ascertain whether tracing paper can be used for the purpose of writing. Before we advert to this aspect, it must be stated that there is intrinsic evidence in the entry itself to indicate that the user of the paper is material to ascertain whether duty is payable under Item No. 17(1) or 17(2). The submission of Mr. Desai that the fiscal entry makes no reference to the user of the article cannot....
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....ld take in its sweep tracing also. Tracing, in our judgment, is a part of writing and the expression 'writing' should not be restricted to writing alphabet. Making any marks or drawing sketch on a paper also amounts to writing and, therefore, tracing paper would squarely fall within the expression 'writing paper' as contemplated under Tariff Item No. 17(1). 5. Mr. Desai referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in Collector of C.E., Kanpur v. Krishna Carbon Paper Co. [1988 (37) E.L.T. 480] to urge that where no definition is provided in the statute itself for ascertaining the correct meaning of a fiscal entry, reference to a dictionary is not always safe. The learned counsel urged that the correct guide is the context and the trade mea....
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....tself. Shah further stated that printing is often done on tracing paper to show certain details, modifications or to emphasize the underlying illustration. Shah claims that in common trade practice, tracing paper is used only for purposes of writing, drawing, printing or other form of reproduction. The second affidavit is filed by Muzaffar Husein Asgaraly Kapadia carrying on business in Bombay. Muzaffar Asgaraly claims that tracing paper is primarily and essentially used for tracing purposes and tracing necessarily involves writing, drawing or making some other form of reproduction on the paper itself and the general trade understanding is that tracing paper is used for the purposes of writing or printing. The third affidavit is filed by Bh....