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TMI Blog1985 (5) TMI 54X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... May 7, 1982 of the High Court of Delhi in Civil Writ Petition No. 934 of 1972. Civil Appeal No. 2730 of 1982 is directed against Order No. 162 of 1982 passed by the Government of India in a revision application against the order dated September 7, 1982 passed by the Appellate Collector of Central Excise, New Delhi, Order No. 162 of 1982 of the Government of India was passed by the Additional Secretary and the Joint Secretary, Government of India, in its Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue. 2. The appellant Company carries on the business of manufacture and sale of aluminium conductors used for the purpose of transmission of high voltage electric current. One of its factories is situated at Faridabad, in the State of Haryana. The affidavits filed by the appellant show that there are three different manufacturing techniques by which rods are obtained : by extrusion, by conventional rolling and by the Properzi method. In the extrusion process, rods are manufactured by forcing the metal through a sized die. In the conventional rolling process, billets of definite weight are first cast. Thereafter, they are pre-heated well above the recrystallization temperature in a loop mill, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xperts in support of its case that Properzi Rods fall under the residuary entry and not under Entry No. 27(a)(ii). However, the Appellate Collector dismissed the appeal on September 7, 1972. The appellant filed a revision application against the appellate order and it also filed a writ petition in the High Court of Delhi, being Civil Writ Petition No. 934 of 1972. Having failed in the revision application as also in the writ petition, the appellant has filed these two appeals. 5. Shri Venugopal, who appears on behalf of the appellant, contends that Properzi Rods are not wire rods within the meaning of Entry No. 27(a)(ii) of the First Schedule to the Act, for the following reasons : (1) Commercially, Propezi Rods are not known as wire rods in the trade. A person wanting to purchase Properzi Rods asks specifically for Propezi Rods and not for wire rods. (2) Properzi Rods are mainly used for the manufacture of aluminium conductors and cables, while wire rods are used mainly for making nuts, bolts and rivettes. (3) A wire rod is limited by its length, while Properzi Rods are only available in coils weighing 500 to 2,000 Kg. of continuous length ranging from 2,625 meters to 10,500 m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... items. 7. Turning first to the affidavits of the academics, they lay accent on the basic difference between the process of manufacturing Properzi Rods and the wire rods. That is demonstrated in the affidavits of Shri V.A. Gadgil, Dr. K.R. Satyanarayan and Dr. R.D. Chaudhari, Dr. P.R. Khangaonkar has described with particularity the Properzi process which is adopted by the appellant's plant at Faridabad for manufacturing Properzi Rods. Contrasting the Properzi Process with the extrusion process, Dr. Khangaonkar states in his affidavit that the raw material used in the Properzi process is aluminium ingots whereas it is aluminium billets in the other processes. He concludes that, from an expert's point of view, the Properzi Rods cannot be put in the same category as conventionally rolled aluminium rods. Though we have no doubt that the data contained in these affidavits is based on true facts, we find it difficult to accept that Properzi Rods cannot be described as wire rods merely because the process of manufacturing the two articles is different. It is significant that the appellant itself obtained a licence in L-4 form to manufacture "aluminium wire rods". It is only because of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rods, the expression `wire rod' has been defined in the Indian Customs Tariff Guide thus : "Wire rod is of any shape generally round and between 5 mm and 14 mm diameter and is intended for conversion into wire". Wire rods are synonymous with wire bars. 11. From the description of `Properzi Rod' as contained in the various affidavits filed on behalf of the appellant itself, it is clear that Properzi Rod is a wire rod. Entry No. 27(a)(ii) comprehends "wire bars, wire rods and castings not otherwise specified". The last clause of this entry, "not oherwise specified" must govern not only the expression `castings' but the expressions `wire bars' and `wire rods' also. Since Properzi Rods, which are a species of wire rods, are not otherwise specified, they would fall under Entry No. 27(a)(ii). 12. The affidavits to which we have referred assert, particularly those of the two dealers, that in commercial parlance Properzi Rods are not called wire rods and the two are treated as distinct species of goods. Shri Venugopal places strong reliance upon these affidavits and argues that whether a particular item falls under a particular entry must be determined with reference to its description i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sonal experience but is in the nature of hearsay. 13. To sum up the true position, the process of manufacture of a product and the end use to which it is put, cannot necessarily be determinative of the classification of that product under a fiscal Schedule like the Central Excise Tariff. What is more important is whether the broad description of the article fits in with the expression used in the Tariff. The aluminium wire rods, whether obtained by the extrusion process, the conventional process or by Properzi process, are still aluminium wire rods. The process of manufacture is bound to undergo transformation with the advancement in science and technology. The name of the end-product may, by reason of new technological processes, change but, the basic nature and quality of the article may still answer the same description. On the basis of the material before us, it is not possible to record a positive finding that Properzi rods and wire rods are treated as distinct items in commercial parlance. Properzi Rod is a wire rod subjected to the properzi process and is used for transmission of high voltage electric current. 14. For these reasons, we confirm the judgment of the High Cour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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