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TMI Blog1990 (7) TMI 245X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion has been manufacturing patta patti. The same is manufactured by these rerollers of S.S. Steel. They purchase flats from the other manufacturers or from open market and these flats are rolled in the Rolling Mills between two Horizontal barrels and that by this way the irregular shaped product comes out having about 16 guage. The product undergo both the process of hot rolling and thereafter patta pattis are cold rolled for the purpose of reduction of the guage. The manufacturer have contended that their product are classifiable under itme 26AA (ia), of earlier Central Excise Tariff prior to 1-8-1983 and thereafter under Tariff item 25(8), whereas the department has classified these products under Tariff Item 26AA(iii) prior to 1-8-1983 and thereafter as strip under Tariff....Item 25(12)(i). The department s contention has been that these are the product which can reasonably be called as strip classifiable under 26AA(iii) prior to 1-8-1983 and under Tariff Item 25(12)(i) from 1-8-1983. 5. Advocates as above in their written as well as oral submission have made the following contentions. From 1-8-1983 the definition of strip is given in the serial No. (xiv) of the explanation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9. Assistant Collector (in case of thirteen appeals) has decided that it is a strip and if it is not a strip it is sheet. It has been contended that the original show cause notice were for classifying as strip... The matter before the Collector (Appeals) as well as Tribunal was regarding strip and now the Assistant Collector has stated that these may be strip or sheet. It has been stated that the product can not be strip and sheet. It has to be either of these two if at all. Further the Assistant Collector at this stage can not decide that it is a sheet, until and unless a show cause notice for doing so is issued. 10. The Tribunal s decision in case of Calcutta Steel Industries v. Union of India 1987 (30) E.L.T. 558-CEGAT wherein the classification of the product as loop under 26 AA(ii) was ruled out because the same was not product of Mill that produces Loop or Strip upheld by the Supreme Court, in 1989 (39) E.L.T. 175 (SC). 10A. The following decisions have been cited on behalf of various manufacturers. 1. C.D. Industries v. Collector, C. Ex., Bombay -II -1984 ECR 1782 (CEGAT) 2. Apar Private Ltd. v. Collector of C. Ex. -1984 (18) E.L.T. 491 (Tribunal) 3. Order-in-appe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , so far as the use of final product is concerned, they are utilised for manufacture of stainless steel utensils and the manufacturers may not be requiring these product in a finally cut form or of sheared edges because they can utilise the ends also for manufacture of small items. The product have length-wise two parallel edges which is almost in straight lines. Shearing of edges may not undertaken as the purchaser do not need necessarily of sheared edges. Therefore, it can not be said that they do not have any sheared edges and would not merit classification as strip. 14. I have seen the submissions made on behalf of the appellant and also the submissions made on behalf of the department. 15. Prior to 1-8-1983 the word strip was not defined, so one has to go how the word strip was clarified by the department at that time. The department clarified vide Vadodara Collectorate Trade Notice No. 164/68 dated 31-7-1968 that strip are to be in the form of coil. The product in question are not in coil. Again in 1982 the definition as given is similar to one under Serial No. XIV of explanation to CET 25. It also speaks of mill rolled, trimmed or sheared edges and supplied in coil or f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... definition of strip as given in the Central Excise Tariff which is very much based on the definition in ISI 1956, it must necessarily be supplied in coil form or after opening up (flattening) and cutting into pieces the flattened coils . 19. It was submitted that with coming into force of the new tariff, description of appellants product which used to be classified under Tariff Item No. 25(8) was retained under Heading 7208 as such these cannot be considered strips. The definition of strip on the one hand describes the product with reference to the nature of the product/the cross section, thickness. The product broadly resembles these features. However, these are superficial resemblances. The strip I observe is required to be rolled and finished in coil form. This is so because of the length of the strip. On the other hand, the definition includes other features viz. that the product must have rolled, trimmed or sheared edges and the same is supplied in coils or flattened coil (straight length). Regarding the last para of the definition that strip is supplied in coils or flattened coil (straight length) form, the finding of the Assistant Collector is rather difficult to agree wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s so that straight length comes into existence, any other meaning would be doing violence to the wording of the definition of strip. Many time strips are flattened and cut so as to supply in straight length. The word straight length is given in bracket (), therefore, it can not be read independently. It can only explain the flattened coil. It can only help us in reading into the meaning of flattened coil because the entry does not say coil, flattened coil or straight length . Had it been so then the word straight length could have been read independently. The word straight length is only explanatory. What is important is coil or flattened coil and the flattened coil obviously are those which are flattened from coil. Hence existence of coil is must as no coil comes into existence. The product is neither in coil nor in the form of flattened coil. Therefore the essential criteria is not satisfied. Hence product can not be classified as strip. 23. I find that according to the ISI specification strip is the hot or cold rolled product rolled in rectangular cross section of thickness 10mm and below and supplied with mill rolled, trimmed or sheared edges and supplied in coil or flattene ..... 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