IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Car Mats come under chapter-heading 570390.90 of Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.
(2) Rate of excise duty – Popular meaning among consumers would be a major factor for interpretation of dispute relating to classification.

JUDGMENT

Aniruddha Bose, J.

These two appeals against the decision of the Customs Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) rendered on 16th July, 2008 require adjudication on the question as to whether "car matting" would come within Chapter 57 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 under the heading "Carpets and Other Textile Floor Coverings" or they would be classified under Chapter 87 thereof, which relates to "Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock and Parts and Accessories Thereof". The appeals are against a common decision and we shall also deal with both these appeals together in this judgment. The respondent-assessee want their goods to be placed under Chapter heading 5703.90. We shall refer to the specific entries against this item later in the judgment. The respondent, at the material point of time were engaged in the business of manufacture of textile floor coverings and car matting. The subject-goods have been referred to interchangeably by the revenue also as car mattings and car carpets. The respondent, at the material time, were clearing the goods declaring them to be goods against Heading No.570390.90. Effective rate of excise duty on goods under that entry was 8% and education cess at the applicable rate for the subject period. We find this rate of duty, inter-alia, from the order of the Commissioner dealing with the first and the second show-cause notices. The rate of basic excise duty would have been 16% apart from education cess if these goods were classified against goods specified in heading no.8708.99.00. Altogether three show-cause-notices were issued against the respondent over clearance of goods under the said heading. These notices required them to answer as to why they should not be charged the differential rate of duty and interest. We would like to point out here that in the show-cause notices, the respective chapter sub-headings have been referred to as 8708.99.00 and 570390.90 and in the order of the Tribunal also, the sub-headings have been referred to as such. But the authorities themselves in certain places described the sub-headings in shorter numerical forms, as 5703.90 and 8708.00. We find these minor variations in the paper-book. But this variation of the subheadings represented in numerical form is not of any significance so far as adjudication of these appeals are concerned. The respondent were also to answer as to why penalty should not be imposed upon them in terms of Section 38A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with Rule 25 of the Rules made thereunder. The first show-cause notice is dated 9th August, 2005 in regard to clearance of goods made during the period between 9th July, 2004 and 31st March, 2005. They had cleared altogether 8,65,777 pieces of those items in different sizes in that period. The second show-cause notice was issued on 2nd May, 2006 and related to clearance of 12,02,482 pieces of the same goods for the period between 1st April, 2005 and 31st January, 2006. The third show-cause notice is of 7th March, 2007 and the clearance involved 20,15,412 pieces from 1st February, 2006 to 31st January, 2007. For the period involved in the third show-cause notice, clearance was made by the respondent under Chapter sub-heading no.570500.19, which carried effective rate of duty @8%.

2. By the time the third show-cause notice was issued, the adjudicating authority of first instance (Commissioner Central Excise, Delhi III) had passed the order against the respondent on 29th September, 2006, upon considering their responses to the said two show-cause notices. In this judgment, we shall mainly refer to this order, while examining the decision of the Tribunal. The authorities' stand has been that the subject-items ought to be classified under sub-heading 8708.99.00. Against chapter heading 8708, the goods described are "parts and accesso