JUDGMENT

A.K. SIKRI, J.

The appellant (hereinafter referred to as the “assessee”) is a paper mill which is engaged, inter alia, in the manufacture of paper. For the manufacture of paper, the assessee uses various conventional raw materials and also non-conventional raw materials, namely, waste gunny bags, jute waste etc. The assessee is exigible to Central Excise on the aforesaid product, namely, paper manufactured by it, which the assessee has been paying to the respondent (hereinafter referred to as the “Revenue”) from time to time. In order to encourage production of paper by use of non-conventional raw material, the Government of India issued Notification No. 22/94-CE dated 01.03.1994 which assures concessional rate of duty at 5% for “paper and paperboard or articles made from non-conventional material”. The condition which is contained in the said Notification that needs to be fulfilled in order to avail the benefit thereof to pay the concessional rate of duty reads as under:

“If such paper and paperboard or articles made therefrom have been manufactured, starting from the stage of pulp, in a factory, and such pulp contains not less than 75 per cent by weight of pulp made from