Customs, Excise and Gold Tribunal - Delhi
Collector Of C. Ex. vs Bhilwara Spinners Ltd on 21 July, 1998
Equivalent citations: 1998(104)ELT719(TRI-DEL)
ORDER Jyoti Balasundaram, Member (J)
1. The issue to be decided in these appeals filed by the Revenue is whether "blended spun yarn" produced and cleared by the respondents falls for classification under T.I. 18-LU(i) as contended by the assessees (and upheld by the lower appellate authority) or under T.I. 18-III(ii) as claimed by the Revenue in these appeals. According to the Revenue such yarn falls for classification under T.I. 18-LU(ii) since it contains man-made fibres of non-cellulosic origin. On the other hand, the assessees contend that the product in dispute is classifiable under T.I. 18-III(i) on the ground that it contains non-cellulosic synthetic waste, and does not contain man-made fibres of non-cellulosic origin.
2. We have heard Shri A.K. Agarwal, learned SDR and Shri K.K. Anand, learned Counsel.
3. We find that an identical issue was decided in the case of CCE, Nagpur v. Vardhan Syntex; CCE, Calcutta v. Eastern Spinning Mills and Industries ; Modern Threads India & 7 Ors. v. Collector of Central Excise, Jaipur reported in 1991 (37) ECR 542 holding that the yarn spun from synthetic waste of non-cellulosic origin and man-made cellulosic fibre in which the cellulosic fibre content predominates by weight, cannot be said to contain man-made fibres of non-cellulosic origin, as synthetic waste is not fibre, and hence such yarn is classifiable under T.I. 18-m(i) and not under T.I. 18-IH(ii). The Tribunal held that the Department's contention that the waste cannot be blended with viscose and has to be converted to fibre before it can be so blended is not sustainable because during cross-examination, it has been elicited that inferior quality yarn can be spun from waste (para 28 of the judgment). This judgment was followed in the case of CCE v. Banswara Synthex Ltd. and the Supreme Court has dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the Tribunal's order in the Banswara Syntex as reported in 1998 (97) E.L.T. A69. This decision was not brought to the notice of the Tribunal while deciding the case of CCE, Ahmedabad v. New Gujarat Synthetics Ltd. reported in 1997 (89) E.L.T. 727 relied upon by the DR in which it was held that the production of spun yarn itself establishes that the non-cellulosic waste had been made fit for mixing/blending with other fibres and that no yarn could be made directly out of waste. Since the decision of the Tribunal in the case of Banswara Syntex which follows the order in the case of Vardhan Syntex case cited supra has been upheld by the Supreme Court, we hold that the product in dispute manufactured by the respondents herein is classifiable under T.L' 18III(i) of the Schedule to the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff, confirm the impugned order and reject the appeals.