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TMI Blog1988 (8) TMI 193X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (the Schedule and Act are referred to hereinafter as Central Excise Tariff and the ACT for brevity s sake). He also demanded under Rule 9(2) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) Rs. 5,62,204.53 as duty leviable on the clearances effected during the period from March, 1982 to January, 1985 and imposed a penalty of Rs. 1 lakh on the appellants under Rule 173Q for contravention of the various provisions of Central Excise law. 2. We have heard Shri V. Sridharan, Advocate, for the appellants and Shri V.M. Doiphode, SDR, for the respondent. 3. Certain additional material consisting of a letter dated 22-8-1986 from the appellants to Indian Standards Institution and the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tention that the process undertaken by them was only a packing process not amounting to manufacture for the purpose of Central Excise levy was rejected by the Collector who held that the so-called drum before the bulb is put into it and both ends are folded can be called a flattened carton and that, in any event, after the ends are folded, it is definitely a full-fledged carton. The Collector has further held that the goods are not eligible for duty exemption in terms of Central Excise Notification 66/82 since they are printed cartons. He also held that the goods are not eligible for the benefit of Notification 279/82 since they are not made wholly out of the specified materials but have in their composition, printing or writing paper also. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted. It is every day experience that such paper board drums are used to pack and market diverse consumer products such as Talcum Powder, Vim etc. The present goods bear no resemblance whatsoever to such paper drums which are tightly closed at both ends after the contents are put in and are often fitted with reinforcing circular bands. Nor do they resemble tubular containers for posting documents. 10. The question as to what constitutes a container was considered by the Bombay High Court in the case of Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Voltas Ltd. 1977 (Vol. 39) STC 409. It is true that the goods immediately before the High Court were cheese cubes packed in aluminium foils and the question which arose was whether the cheese cubes could be sai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... parate identity and that though aluminium foils when in the form of sheets, were not containers, once they were cut and coated on the cheese cubes or the cheese cubes packed in them, they would become containers, and that whenever one thing contained another, that thing was a container. The Court held :- In our view, the word container" used in the said entry 6 refers to an article which is meant or intended for keeping some goods in it. It is not intended to refer to a piece of paper or a piece of cloth or a tin, aluminium or silver foil with which another article can be wrapped. The dictionary meaning relied upon by Mr. Cooper itself shows that the primary meaning of the word container is something that contains, such as a receptacl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ontainers. 11. The principle emerging from this judgment, to our mind, is that for an article to be called a container it must have already come into existence and must answer to the description of a container. It cannot be called a container if it assumes the shape of a container after some other goods are put into it. 12. In this context it is also relevant to note that according to the Indian Standard Glossary of Terms relating to paper and pulp-based packaging materials (IS : 4261-1967), container is any receptacle which holds, restrains or encloses any article or commodity or articles or commodities to be stored or transported. According to Indian Standard Glossary of Terms relating to paper and flexible packaging (IS : 7186-19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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