Sai Security Printers Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of C. Ex.

Sai Security Printers Ltd. vs Commissioner of C. Ex.

Type Court Judgment Court Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal CESTAT Delhi Decided Feb 22, 2006

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Citation: sooperkanoon.com/41907
Court: Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal CESTAT Delhi
Judge: S Kang, Vice-, S T T.V.
Decided On: Feb 22, 2006
Subject: Service Tax

Case Summary

AI-generated summary - not the official court judgment text.

Service Tax

Key legal issue: Service Tax

Parties & Advocates

Appellant / Petitioner

Sai Security Printers Ltd.

Respondent

Commissioner of C. Ex.

Excerpt

.....order of the commissioner (appeals) dated 30-12-2003. the issue before us is whether such products as claimed by the appellants is classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 or under 4811.90 as printed thermal rolls as contended by the respondent. the fact that the product in question is in roll form is not contested by either side, it is contended that the appellants had imported thermal paper rolls classifiable under sub-heading 4811.90 after wards, they printed the rolls and later cut in slit them to suit their requirement. the process undertaken has been clearly given in the statement of shri satish kumar rohilla, works manager of the appellant recorded on 10-4-2003. inspite of this clear statement, id. commissioner (appeals) has observed in his order repeatedly that the thermal paper imported by the appellant was "cut to size and printed". ld. commissioner (appeals) in the impugned order also relied upon chapter note 10a of chapter 48 of central excise tariff act, 1985, according to which, in relation to the thermal paper falling under this chapter, the process of slitting or cutting or both of these processes of cutting/slitting to size carried out on the imported thermal paper amounts to manufacture and sub-heading 4811.90 covers other paper, paper board printed in rolls. ld. commissioner (appeals) has, thus held that the product in question is classifiable under heading 4811.90 i.e. the very same sub-heading under which the inputs were imported.2. to support his argument, ld. counsel for the appellant relies upon the following judgments: if printing brings into existence a product, the resultant product would be a product of printing industry wrappers "printed gay wrappers" used in packing of cigarette rackets - classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 of central excise tariff as products of printing industry carrying nil rate of duty and not under sub-heading 4923.90 ibid as claimed by revenue. 3. studio printall (new delhi) pvt. ltd. v. cce, delhi-i stickers,.....

Full Judgment

1. This is an appeal filed by M/s. Sai Security Printers Ltd. who are engaged in the printing of lottery tickets, bus tickets, cheque books, demand draft, thermal rolls and MTNL-VCC Trump Card etc. challenging the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) dated 30-12-2003. The issue before us is whether such products as claimed by the appellants is classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 or under 4811.90 as printed thermal rolls as contended by the respondent. The fact that the product in question is in roll form is not contested by either side, it is contended that the appellants had imported thermal paper rolls classifiable under sub-heading 4811.90 After wards, they printed the rolls and later cut in slit them to suit their requirement. The process undertaken has been clearly given in the statement of Shri Satish Kumar Rohilla, Works Manager of the appellant recorded on 10-4-2003. Inspite of this clear statement, Id. Commissioner (Appeals) has observed in his order repeatedly that the thermal paper imported by the appellant was "cut to size and printed". Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) in the impugned order also relied upon Chapter Note 10A of Chapter 48 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, according to which, in relation to the thermal paper falling under this chapter, the process of slitting or cutting or both of these processes of cutting/slitting to size carried out on the imported thermal paper amounts to manufacture and sub-heading 4811.90 covers other paper, paper board printed in rolls. Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) has, thus held that the product in question is classifiable under Heading 4811.90 i.e. the very same sub-heading under which the inputs were imported.

2. To support his argument, Ld. Counsel for the appellant relies upon the following judgments: If printing brings into existence a product, the resultant product would be a product of printing industry Wrappers "Printed Gay Wrappers" used in packing of Cigarette rackets - Classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 of Central Excise Tariff as products of printing industry carrying nil rate of duty and not under sub-heading 4923.90 ibid as claimed by revenue.

3. Studio Printall (New Delhi) Pvt. Ltd. v. CCE, Delhi-I Stickers, produced by printing on various materials, brought into existence by printing, hence, eligible for exemption as a product of printing industry following ratio of Apex Court's decision as .

3. Ld. Authorised Departmental Representative reiterates the contention of the Commissioner (Appeals) by referring to Chapter Note 10A. He also relies upon following two judgments of this Tribunal: Thermal paper - Coated paper sensitive to heat and on heating leaves blue colour making it suitable for graphics - Classifiable under sub-heading 4811.20 of Central Excise Act, 1985. Thermal paper is a coated paper sensitive to heat. When heated, it leaves a blue colour making it suitable for graphics by the moving styles. This paper is not ordinarily used as printing and writing paper or as a graphic paper. More appropriate sub-heading will be 4811.90.

Paper - Thermal printing paper - Customs - Coated paper with a width exceeding 15 cms - Classifiable under sub-heading 4811.90 of Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and not under Heading 48.23 ibid.

4. We have examined the case records and heard both sides. We have also examined the specimens produced by the appellant in his paper book. We find that the thermal paper produced before us bears words and graphics. Both slit and unslit specimens bear such printing. It is, therefore, evident that the imported thermal paper has first under gone "printing" and later on cutting and slitting has taken place. There is also no dispute that the appellants are clearing this product in roll form so that the same could be used by various users straightway as in online lottery. We are, therefore of the view that the product in question can be rightly classified under sub-heading 4901.90 as it can be treated as the product of the printing industry. While arriving at this conclusion, we also rely upon the ratio arrived at by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in their judgment in the case of Metagraphs Pvt. Ltd. and this Tribunal's decision in the case of VST Industries Ltd. (supra).

Further it has also been brought to our notice that in the Explanatory Notes relating to Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System article such as lottery tickets, raffle tickets, tambola tickets, scratch cards etc. stand classified under Chapter 49 which also goes to indicate that the product in question is rightly classifiable under Chapter 49. The order of the Commissioner (Appeals) is therefore, set aside.

Same Court & Year Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal CESTAT Delh... Same Parties Sai Security Printers Ltd. vs Commissioner of C. Ex. Same Subject Service Tax Same Judge S Kang, Vice-, S T T.V.