TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1996 (11) TMI 65
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....peal Nos. 1942-53 of 1988; 2162-70 (NM) of 1988 and 3657-72 (NM) of 1990 moved by M/s. Hico Products Ltd. being aggrieved by the diverse orders of the Tribunal which has taken the view that silicone oil manufactured by them and/or imported by them, as the case may be, was liable to be brought to tax under Central Excise Tariff Item 15A(1) as applicable at the relevant time of manufacture or import, as the case may be, and not under residuary Tariff Item 68 as contended by them for the purpose of determining the appropriate excise duty payable by them and/or countervailing duty payable by them on these goods. Category (3) consists of Civil Appeal No. 453 of 1986 moved by M/s. Reliance Silicon (I) Pvt. Ltd. and Civil Appeal No. 1507 of 1984 moved by M/s. Hico Products Ltd. These two appellants are manufacturers of preparations out of silicone. The grievance of the appellant in Civil Appeal No. 453 of 1986 is against the Tribunal's order holding that silicone preparations prepared by them are covered by Tariff Item 15A(1) and would not be covered by Tariff Item 68. The grievance of the appellant in Civil Appeal No. 1507 of 1984 is of a similar nature, namely, that silicone preparation....
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....or polymerised, and whether or not linear (for example, pheno-plasts, amino-plasts, alkyds, polyallyl esters and other unsaturated polyesters, silicones); polymerisation and co-polymerisatioin products (for example; polyethylene, polytetrahaloethylenes, polyisobutylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloroacetate and other polyvinyl derivatives, polyacrylic and polymethacrylic darivatives, coumaroneindene resins); regenerated cellulose; cellulose, nitrate, cellulose acetate and other cellulose esters, cellulose ethers and other chemical derivatives of cellulose, plasticised or not (for example, collodions, celluloid); vulcanised fibre; hardened proteins (for example, hardened casein and hardened gelatin); natural resins modified by fusion (run gums); artificial resins obtained by esterification of natural resins or of resinic acids (ester gums); chemical derivatives of natural rubber (for example, chlorinated rubber, rubber hydrochloride, oxidised rubber, cyclised rubber); other high polymers, artificial resins and artificial plastic materials, including alginic acid, its salts and esters; linoxyn." Fifty per cent ad valroem Relevant Explanatio....
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....d, therefore, liable to be classified under Item 15AA. It has to be kept in view that the silicone oil which was imported by the concerned manufacturers was subsequently diluted and mixed and used in the manufacture of their products, namely, silicone softeners 662 and silicone AU 331 etc. They manufactured no goods by the process of condensation and polycondensation etc. Such silicone preparations out of imported silicone oil which underwent process of dilution could not be treated to have remained silicone itself so as to attract Tariff Item 15A(1). The Tribunal was, therefore, justified in placing the diluted silicone oil and other preparations from silicone as classifiable under Tariff Item 15AA. The amendment brought about in 1982 by amending Tariff Item 15A(1), in our view, would not make any difference in favour of the Revenue for the simple reason that before the amended Item 15A(1) as reproduced hereinabove would apply it should be shown that by the process of manufacture undertaken by the concerned respondent-assessees any process of condensation, polycondensation and poly-addition was resorted to qua the concerned silicones. The Tribunal has noted as a matter of fact tha....
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....cerned a close look at Tariff Item 15A(1) of the Central Excise Tariff which would be relevant for deciding the countervailing duty liability of the appellant-importer would be apposite. It is true as contended by learned counsel for the appellants that the Head Note of Tariff Item 15A talks of artificial or synthetic resins and plastic materials. However it also does talk of other materials and articles specified in the said Item. Therefore, it is not possible to agree with the contention of learned counsel for the appellant-importer that other articles and materials must necessarily partake the character of artificial or synthetic resins or must be resins of any other type, as that contention would make the wide phraseology employed in the very same Item in its second part concerning other materials and articles specified in the said item otios and would denude these words of their real meaning and content. Tariff Item 15A(1) as noted earlier covers condensation, polycondensation and poly-addition products whether or not modified or polymerised and also covers esters and other unsaturated polyesters silicones. A bare reading of the aforesaid wordings in Item 15A(1) of the Central....
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....ylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloroacetate and other polyvinyl derivatives, polyacrylic and polymethacrylic derivatives, coumaroneindene resins); regenerated cellulose; cellulose nitrate; cellulose acetate and other cellulose esters, cellulose ethers and other chemical derivatives of cellulose, plasticised or not (for example, collodions; celluloid); vulcanised fibre; hardened proteins for example, hardened casein and hardened gelatin); natural resins modified by fusion (run gums); artificial resins obtained by esterification of natural resins or of resinic acids (ester gums); chemical derivatives of natural rubber (for example, chlorinated rubber, rubber hydrochloride, oxidised rubber, cyclised rubber); other high polymers, artificial resins and artificial plastic materials, including alginic acid, its slats and esters; linoxyn. 200% 15A, 15B, 16B We cannot appreciate how the said Heading would not cover silicone oil. Silicone which has undergone process of condensation, polycondensation and poly-addition is expressly covered by the said Heading. It cannot, therefore, be said that the residuary Heading found in Chapter 38 of the sai....
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....that the amended Item 15A was almost pari materia with the earlier Item 15A as contended by learned counsel for the appellant. It has to be kept in view that for deciding the liability to tax the clear wordings of the Item have to be considered and given effect to when on the express words of the Item the concerned products get squarely covered by the same reference to the past history of the said Item as might have existed in a different form prior to its amendment would lose all its significance and would remain a past event only and cannot be validly pressed in service for deciding the taxability of the product which is covered by the sweep of the amended Item. Learned counsel for the appellant then submitted that artificial resins and plastic materials are the only items which are in the sweep of amended Item 15A(1). We have already shown that the sweep of the Item is more comprehensive and covers materials other than artificial resins and plastic materials. It was lastly contended that a Tariff Advice was issued in 1984 by the Additional Collector of Central Excise, Thane which showed that even after amendment of Tariff Item 15A of the Central Excise Tariff Polyethylene Glycol....