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TMI Blog1984 (6) TMI 220X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6-A. Rubber products, the following, namely : (1) Latex foam sponge, (2) Plates, sheets and strips un-hardened, whether vulcanised or not, and whether combined with any textile material or otherwise, (3) Piping and tubing of unhardened vulcanised rubber, (4) Transmission, conveyor or elevator belts or belting, or vulcanised rubber. 68. All other goods, not elsewhere specified.......... 2. The appellants stated during the hearing before us that according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol. 19 page 680 there were three types of rubber:- A. Natural Rubber B. Synthetic Rubber C. Reclaimed, or Scrap, Rubber. They further quoted the following extract from the book Rubber Technology , Second Edition, by Maurice M ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Department and asked for an L.4 licence under Item 68 which had been introduced with effect from 1-3-1975. For the next three years the appellants did not contest the classification of their reclaimed rubber sheets under Item 68 since the rate of duty under Item 68 was very low -1% to begin with and then 2%. But when the rate of duty under Item 68 was increased to 5% with effect from 1-3-1978, the appellants contested the Department s classification of their goods under Item 68 by their letter dated 9-5-1978. The revised stand of the appellants was that their reclaimed rubber sheets fell under Item 16A(2). The Asstt. Collector rejected their claim without giving any reason except that he held the appellants original stand of 1975 agai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r reclaimed rubber sheets were purely a raw material, that a calendering machine was required to manufacture rubber sheets, that they had no such machine; that no sheet as such was manufactured by them and that reclaimed rubber was just given a shape for packing purposes. The Department s Representative argued that there had been no change in this position and the appellants had submitted no technical data or opinion to justify classification of their goods under Item 16A(2). Item 16A of the Tariff related to rubber products. The expression Rubber products had a definite connotation in the context of the Central Excise Tariff. In this connection, the Department s Representative cited example of Tariff Item 1C-Food Products and the old Tar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... atural or synthetic rubber. 6. We have carefully considered the matter. We agree with the appellants that classification of their goods cannot be decided just by holding their old stand against them. The basis for such a decision has to be the nature of the goods and the tariff description. It does not, however, mean that pertinent facts which the appellants gave in the past to explain the nature of their goods have also ceased to be relevant. We find that in their two letters dated 8-5-1975 and 12-5-1975 addressed to the Department, the appellants stated that Item 16A related to rubber products, that their reclaimed rubber sheets were purely a raw material for manufacture of rubber sheets, that they were nowhere used or utilised as a ru ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as per the governing words of Item 16A. It is, no doubt, true that reclaimed rubber sheets of the appellants have come out of a definite process of manufacture or production and they are, therefore, a product in their own right. But when the tariff item talks of Rubber Products , the expression acquires a definite connotation. Milk is a product but when we talk of milk products, we do not include therein milk itself but only the products made out of milk. Similarly, wheat products include bread, biscuits, etc. made out of wheat but not wheat itself although wheat is also a product. Steel is a generic word but when we talk of steel products, we think of articles made out of steel and not steel as such. The same is the case with rubber. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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