G. Sankaran, Member (T)

1. The dispute in the two captioned appeals revolves round the correct classification, under the Central Excise Tariff Schedule (GET, for short), of certain goods-"treated paper, treated fabrics and treated glass fabrics"-manufactured by the appellants hereinafter referred to as Formica). There are also other ancillary issues to which we shall refer at the appropriate places.

2. Since the basic issues are similar in both the appeals, they are being disposed of by this common order.

3. The facts of the case in Appeal No. 1516/83-C, briefly stated, are that Formica manufacture Rigid Plastic Laminates. For this purpose, they procure paper, cotton fabrics and glass fabrics as raw materials and treat them with synthetic resin to obtain treated paper, treated cotton fabric and treated glass fabric. Several layers of treated paper/treated fabric are compressed under heat and pressure to form rigid plastic laminates. The treated paper/fabric were consumed captively for the manufacture of rigid plastic laminates without paying Central Excise duty leviable thereon under Item 17(2) (treated paper), Item 19B (treated cotton fabric) and Item 22B (treated glass fabric).