Swastik Paper Industries vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors.

1. These appeals are preferred against an order of the Government of India made on a revision petition filed by the appellant under Section 36 of the Central Excise Act, as it obtained at the relevant time. It dismissed the Revision Petition. The controversy herein lies in a narrow compass. The appellant is engaged in the manufacture of corrugated boards. He was availing the benefit of the Exemption Notification contained in Notification No. 135/67, dated July 3, 1967.

2. On September 8, 1967, the Government of India issued another Ex emption Notification with respect to paper - being Notification No. 208/87 - which reads as follows :

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-rule (1) of the Rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, the Central Government hereby exempts the first 1000 metric tonnes of paper, all sorts, falling under Item No. 17 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) (other than strawboard, millboard, newsprint, tissues including cigarette tissue, glassine paper and grease-proof paper) cleared by any manufacturer for home consumption during any financial year, from seventy-five per cent of the duty of excise leviable thereon under the said item read with any notification being in force issued by the Central Government in relation to the duty so leviable :

Provided that (i) the said paper, all sorts, is manufactured in a factory having no plant attached thereto for making bamboo pulp;

(ii) the said exemption shall not be admissible to a manufacturer who avails himself of any of the concessional rates of duties admissible under Columns 4, 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) of the Table below the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 163/65-Central Excises, dated the 1st October, 1965 and

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained in respect of clearances of paper, all sorts, made during the remaining parts of the financial year the benefit of exemption under this Notification shall be available only upto a maximum of 5600 metric tonnes.

Explanation. - For the purposes of this notification 'strawboard' and 'millboard' shall have the same meaning as is assigned to them in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 35 of 1964 Central Excises, dated the 1st March, 1964.

3. Since the Notification refers to Tariff Item No. 17 of the First Schedule(as it then obtained) it would be relevant to notice the said tariff item. It reads thus :

17. Paper, all sorts (including pasteboard, millboard, strawboard and cardboard) in or in relation to the manufacture of which any process is ordinarily carried on with the aid of power :

(1) Cigarette tissue Re. 1.00 per kg. (2) Blotting, toilet, target, Re. 0.50 per kg. tissue other than cigarette tissue, teleprinter, typewriting, manifold, bank, bond, art paper, chrome paper, tub sized paper, cheque paper, stamp paper, cartridge paper, parchment and coated board (including art board, chrome board and board for playing cards) (3) Printing and writing paper, Re. 0.35 per kg. packing and wrapping paper, strawboard and pulpboard, including grey board, corrugated board, duplex board, duplex and triplex boards, other sorts (4) All other kinds of paper and Re. 0.50 per kg. paper board, not otherwise specified

4. Within about three weeks of issuance of Notification No. 208/67, the Government issued another notification being Notification No. 225/67 amending Notification No. 208/67. As amended, the Notification reads as follows :

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-rule (1) of Rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, the Central Government hereby exempts the first 1000 metric tonnes of paper, all sorts, falling under Item No. 17 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) (other than paper boards, newsprint, tissues including cigarette tissue, glassine paper, grease-proof paper and coated papers) cleared by any manufacturer for home consumption during any financial year, from seventy five per cent of the duty of excise leviable thereon under the said item read with any notification for the time being in force issued by the Central Government in relation to the duty so leviable.

(Only the relevant portion is extracted)

5. Once Notification No. 225/67 was issued, the authorities denied the benefit of exemption Notification No. 208/67 to the appellant on the ground that by virtue of the later notification, paperboards have been excluded from the benefit of the Exemption Notification. According to them, the corrugated board manufactured by the appellant was included within the expression 'paperboards'. This was disputed by the appellant but both the Assistant Collector and the Appellate Collector rejected his contention. The Government too did not agree with him.

6. The only question before us is whether corrugated board is included within the expression "paperboard" occurring in Notification No. 225/67. (We are not concerned with the question whether corrugated boards were excluded from the benefit of Notification No. 208/67 - that not being the stand of the Respondents.) Though the said expression is not defined in either notification, a look at the Tariff Item No. 17 itself shows that corrugated board is paper- board. The Tariff Item starts with the words "paper, all sorts (including pasteboard, millboard, strawboard and cardboard)...". Then it goes on to specify several kinds of paper which are comprehended within the said item. Sub-item (3) speaks of grey board, corrugated board, duplex board among others, whereas sub-item (4) speaks of "all other kinds of papers and paperboards, not otherwise specified." The very language of sub-item (4) indicates that some paperboards are already mentioned in the previous sub-items; it is for that reason that sub-item (4) speaks of all other kinds of paperboards. In the context, the paperboards mentioned in the previous sub-items could be those as are referred to in Sub-item (3) among others. Sub-item (3) expressly speaks of corrugated board among other paperboards. The authorities were, therefore, right in treating the corrugated board as paperboard for the purposes of the Notification No. 225/87.

7. The learned Counsel for the appellant brought to our notice certain literature which according to him goes to show that corrugated board is not included within the ambit of the expression "paperboard". We may refer to some of such material. The British Standard Glossary of Packaging Terms defines "corrugated fiberboard" in the following words :

12.6.2. Corrugated Fibreboard. - A corrugated (fluted) sheet of paper of paperboard, faced on both sides with flat paper, usually kraft, called,the 'liner'. This is known as double-face board. Double-face board (sometimes known as double wall board) is composed of two corrugated sheets separated by a flat center sheet and faced on each outer surface.

8. We are unable to see how the said definition helps the appellant. In fact, it supports the respondents' case.

9. Learned Counsel then referred to the Dictionary of Paper, IInd Edition, 1951, published by the American Paper and Pulp Association, New York. According to this dictionary also, paperboard is a general term descriptive of a sheet made of fibrous material and includes paper with such material as corrugating material, light weight chip etc. Reliance is also placed upon the Indian Standard Glossary of Terms relating to Paper and Pulp-based Packaging Materials (IS 4261 : 1967). According to this publication "corrugated fiberboard" is described as Board consisting of one or more sheets of fluted paper stuck to a flat sheet of paper or board between several sheets, usually of kraft. Reference is also made to BS 1133 (Section 7 : 1967) Packaging Code. Even this Code says that corrugated fibreboard defined in BS 3130 is a corrugated (fluted) sheet of paper or paperboard affixed on both sides with flat paper, usually kraft, called the facing (liner). To the same effect is the statement in the British Standard Glossary of Packaging Terms Sub-section 12.6 Fibreboard. The corrugated fibreboard is defined as "a corrugated (fluted) sheet of paper or paperboard, faced on both sides with flat paper, usually kraft, called the 'liner'". The material relied upon by the appellant does not appear to support his contention that corrugated board is not paperboard. Indeed, it tends to establish to the contrary.

10. We are, therefore, unable to see any substance in this appeal.

11. The appeals accordingly fail and are dismissed. No costs.