UNIVERSAL AUTOCRAFTS PVT LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a private limited company and a small scale industry carrying on business as manufactures of corrugated boards and boxes. For such manufacture the petitioner uses as raw material craft paper which it purchases from the manufacturers thereof.

(2.) Under Notification No. 46 of 1971, dated 24th April 1971 the Central Government exempted corrugated boards of the description given in column 2 of the table to the said notification falling under sub-item (2) of Item No. 17 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944, from so much of the duty of excise leviable thereon as was in excess of the duty leviable at the rates specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 of the said table which here was 5 per cent. ad valorem. On 24th January 1978 the Central Government, by its Notification No. 14 of 1978, amended the above Notification No. 46 of 1971 by inserting therein a new proviso after the existing proviso. The said new inserted proviso was as under :-

(3.) On 31st May 1978 the office of the Controller of Central Excise wrote to M/s. Western India Corrugated Box Manufacturing Association in reply to Association's earlier letter and in the said reply it was stated thus :