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TMI Blog1984 (10) TMI 226X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e correct classification should be under Item 68 as "All other goods, not elsewhere specified". 3. The subject matter of the appeal was covered by two orders of the Assistant Collector, against which they went up to the Appellate Collector of Central Excise, Madras. The latter authority remanded the two cases to the Assistant Collector for taking a decision afresh after complying with the principles of natural justice. Thereafter, the Assistant Collector passed a further Order-in-Original dated 16-6-1979, in which he held the goods to be classifiable under Item 16-B. This order was upheld by the Appellate Collector of Customs and Central Excise, Madras, in his order dated 17-11-1980. Although during the hearing, Shri S. Venkataraman, the learned Consultant for the appellants, referred to the contents of the earlier orders of the Assistant Collector (which were set aside in appeal), we are concerned only with the contents of the above mentioned Order-in-Original dated 16-6-1979 and Order-in-Appeal dated 17-11-1980. 3A. The description of Item No. 16-B, as it stood at the relevant time (it was amended subsequently, with effect from 1-3-1982), read as follows :- "16-B. Pl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... veneers either impregnated under vacuum and/or pressure with synthetic resins or coated with synthetic resin or interlaid with synthetic impregnated paper and further bonded and densified under heat and pressure. The synthetic resins are usually phenol and cresol formaldehyde type." Paragraph 2.2 ibid defines high density "Compreg" as "materials with specific gravity varying from 1.25 to 1.45" and paragraph 2.3 defines medium density "Compreg" as "materials with specific gravity varying from .95 to below 1.25". Shri Venkataraman also referred to paragraph 3.1 ibid which reads as follows:- "3.1 Grades--General purpose Compreg shall be of two grades: (a) High density (b) Medium density." He stated that so far no Standard had been formulated by the I.S.I, for low density Compreg, that is, materials with specific gravity below 0.95, but that did not mean that such a commodity did not exist. 7. Shri Venkataraman also drew our attention to the report dated 24/26th February, 1977 of the Chemical Examiner, Custom House, Cochin. The relevant part of this report reads as follows :- "CX. 2941 : Wipchek compressed floor board : This has got very low moisture c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... "Compreg" was a type of improved wood covered by IS : 3513-66 and was not covered under Item 16-B and was therefore not excisable and that the reference to Compreg in Notification No. 16/68-C.E., dated 1-2-1968 was redundant. Shri Venkataraman argued that this clearly showed the recognition by the Board that "Compreg" fell under Item 68 and not under Item 16-B. 9. Shri Venkataraman had also filed extracts from various dictionaries and other works of reference to illustrate the popular and technical understanding of the term "plywood". There is not much difference between the definitions or descriptions given by the various authors, apart from what is natural when different persons write independently on the same topic. We are reproducing below an extract from "Plywood of the World" by Andrew Dick Wood (1963 Edition) :- "In both Europe and America the word "plywood" is used by manufacturers and wood workers alike to describe one of the several forms of board built up with rotary-cut or sliced-cut veneers of wood. Such boards, which may be flat or shaped, are generally classified into four main groups :- (1) Three-ply or multiply construction in which layers of wood vene ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... yers or laminae could have the grain in the same direction. For instance, in one sample having 15 laminae, 10 would be in one direction and the other five at right angles to them. Thus, there would be four adjacent pairs of laminae with the grain running in the same direction. 12. As regards compression, Shri Venkataraman stated that in the case of plywood the pressure applied was about 150 Ibs. per sq. in. In the case of Compreg, the minimum pressure applied was 750 Ibs. per sq. in., which could go up to 2200 Ibs. per sq. in. As a result, in the case of plywood there would be only a marginal reduction in the total thickness, whereas in the case of Compreg the reduction would be to the extent of 37% to 75% (actually the figures should be 27% to 43%, with reference to the original thickness, which has to be taken as the basis : when this was pointed out to Shri Venkataraman he readily agreed). The specific gravity of plywood would be 0.6 to 0.7%, whereas that of Compreg would be 0.95 to 1.45%. 13. On the question of impregnation, according to Shri Venkataraman, in the case of plywood there is only surface coating of the alternative veneers, whereas in the case of Compreg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts and not to the other two, namely Wipchek floor board and Wipckeh floor board. The report also showed that the density of these two products was much less than that of "Wiptread compressed floor board". 19. Shri Lakshmi Kumaran invited our attention to the Explanatory Notes under Heading 44.17 of the CCCN, referring to "improved" wood. It had been stated therein that such "improved" wood may be solid or consist of several layers bonded together, in the latter case the treatment applied being in excess of that required merely to produce a good bond between the layers. He submitted that the term "Compreg" could be properly used only to the first type of "improved" wood, namely where the wood is solid and impregnated, and that it would not apply to the other type of "improved" wood, which is the type under consideration before us. This type of "improved" wood would according to Shri Lakshmi Kumaran still remain as plywood. He saw nothing wrong or illogical in the Assistant Collector using the expression "improved plywood" with reference to this type of product, since it was essentially an improved type of plywood. 20. Coming to the published literature, Shri Lakshmi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e title was "The manufacture of technical plywoods". This would show that even ''Compreg" was only a technical plywood. Shri Lakshmi Kumaran pointed out that in the same Chapter, at pages 127 to 128, reference was made to aircraft plywood, which obviously had to be made into many different shapes. In fact, the illustrations given were of "Moulded nose for Mosquito" and "Jet Engine Intake in Moulded Plywood". Again in Chapter IV at page 147, reference was made to '"Shaped and moulded plywood" and at page 149, there was a reference, with an illustration, to curved panels of plywood. Thus, there were recognised varieties of plywood capable of a wide range of uses, some of them as exacting as use in aircraft. It was in this light that the classification of the goods under consideration should be seen. The strength, resistance and special qualities of these products, on which stress had been laid by Shri Venkataraman, were not denied, but Shri Lakshmi Kumaran submitted that these qualities would not take them out of the scope of the term "plywood". 23. Again, referring to the printed literature of the appellants, Shri Lakshmi Kumaran pointed out that one of the uses ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... density Compreg", that is, less than 0.95. 27. As already mentioned, Shri Venkataraman had filed extracts from a number of books to describe or define "plywood". These however are of very little help when it comes to considering the specific characteristics of "Compreg". However, Shri Venkataraman had also drawn our attention to the section on "Impregnated Laminated Compressed Wood (Compreg)" at pages 139 to 146 of Andrew Dick Wood's book "Plywoods of the World". This also does not give the range of specific gravity of "Compreg", but indicates that it could go up to 1.38. As regards impregnation, it is stated that the veneers are impregnated with a cresylic or phenolic resin before being assembled. It appears that on application of heat and pressure the resin can be polymerised, bonding the impregnated veneers into a homogeneous mass. 28. The only other reference placed before us which gives specifically and in quantitative terms the characteristics of Compreg is IS : 3513 (Part III) - 1966, to which reference has already been made above (para 6 above). We have carefully studied this specification. As already pointed out, it refers to two grades, namely the high de ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ew Dick Wood's books as well as in IS : 3513--1966, material whose density falls below the lower limit specified in the I.S. Specification, namely 0.95, cannot be called high or medium density wood-based laminate, or as "Compreg". In other words, the material in the second category cannot be regarded as "Compreg". 30. We have already referred to the printed literature filed by Shri Venkataraman, which inter alia shows "comparative properties of Wipchek, teakwood and plywood". We find that in this literature the material is referred to as "impregnated densified wood laminate" and "high density floor board". Elsewhere in the same leaflet, the specific gravity of "Wipchek" is given as "1.2 (nominal)". It is clear therefore that whatever is stated in this literature applies only to "Wipchek compressed floor boards", that is, to material falling within the first category, and that the same properties cannot be transferred to material falling within the second category. 31. In the case of material of the second category, the next question is whether, taking it that it is not "Compreg", it can nevertheless be considered as "plywood". In this context Shri Venkataraman had filed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... construction of the goods, but even these refer to "Wipchek compressed floor boards", namely to material of the first category. There is thus nothing to show that the material of the second category does not conform to the usual method of construction of plywood. We also find that IS : 303-1975 relating to plywood allows considerable elasticity in this respect. In para 6.2.3 regarding "Grain Direction" it has been stated as follows :- "Unless otherwise specified by the purchaser and except in boards comprising an even number of plies, the direction of grain of the veneer in adjacent plies shall be at right angles to each other, and that of the outer plies shall run parallel to the larger side of the sheet. In boards comprising an even number of plies, the grain of the centre pair shall follow the same direction. In adjacent plies, in which the grain should be at right angles to each other, a deviation not exceeding 10o may be permited. In all cases, the grain on both faces of the assembled boards shall run in the same direction." Thus, considerable latitude is specifically allowed, and even greater departures are permissible by agreement between the manufacturer and the purchaser ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s phenolic resin which is used for impregnation of Wipchek and Wiptread floor boards. We do not therefore find that there is any distinction in this regard also as between plywood and second category material. 36. The Chemical Examiner's report also stales that the moisture content is "much less than 8.0%". This is not very comprehensible in the light of the criteria laid down in IS : 303 - 1975. According to para 6.2.5 of the Specification the moisture content after pressing should be between 6 and 12%; and according to para 10.3 ibid, the moisture content on test in the prescribed manner should be between 5 and 15%. In the light of the prescribed range of 5 to 15% on test, the statement that the moisture content is much less than 8% is of very little help, particularly as moisture content has not been prescribed as a decisive criterion. Therefore, the material cannot be excluded from the category of plywood on the basis of the vague statement regarding moisture content. 37. As regards end-use, we have already observed that what is shown in the printed literature filed by Shri Venkataraman refers to material of the first category. Even the notes filed by the appel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... material of the second category, namely Wipchek floor board and Wiptread floor board (CX. 2942 and CX. 2943 referred to by the Chemical Examiner) are basically in the nature of plywood and do not vary in any essential respect from the specification for plywood contained in IS : 303--1975. We, therefore, hold that these were correctly classified as plywood under Item 16-B of the Central Excise Tariff. 40. We now come to the material of the first category, namely Wipchek compressed foor board. The Chemical Examiner's report shows that it conforms broadly to IS : 3513 (Part III)--1966 (there appears to be a typographical error in the Chemical Examiner's report in referring to Part I instead of Part III). The Chemical Examiner's report unfortunately does not specify the moisture content, but since it is stated to be "very low", it could be taken that this falls below the minimum moisture content of 5% as prescribed for plywood. A density of 1.2, as given in the appellants literature, would bring it well within the category of Compreg from the point of view of compression. 41. Shri Lakshmi Kumaran had sought to draw a distinction between two varieties of "Compreg", namely t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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