Judgment

S.B. Sinha, J.—Interpretation of an exemption notification dated 28.02.1982, as amended by several notifications, is in question in this appeal which arises out of a judgment and order dated 05.03.2003 passed by the Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, West Zonal Bench at Mumbai (for short, ‘the Tribunal’) in Appeal No. E/1801/02, whereby and whereunder the appeal preferred by the Appellant herein from a judgment and order dated 01.02.2002 passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise & Customs (Appeals) Vadodara, was dismissed.

2. The Appellant, a Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 is engaged in the manufacture and production of excisable good, i.e. cardboard containers. It is a Small Scale Industry. It opted for the benefit contained in Section AA of Chapter V of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 so as to avail the MODVAT credit of the specified duties on plastic coated paper known as ‘LDPE coated paper’. It, however, did not avail of any MODVAT credit in respect of base paper or base paperboard. According to the Appellant, the cardboard container is manufactured out of base paper having three layers and the outer layer consists of LDPE coated