ORDER
J.H. Joglekar, Member (T)
1. The appellants manufactured unvarnished glass fabrics, tapes and sleevings, classifiable under Heading 70.14. They claimed benefit of Notification No. 52/86, dated 10-2-1986 -Entry at Sl. No. 10 for assessment at nil rate of duty. The assistant Commissioner in his order held that the entry at Sl. No. 11 of the subject notification would apply whereby the goods attracted duty @ 20%. In his order, the Commissioner (Appeals) held that whereas unvarnished glass fibre cloth would attract nil rate of duty under Sl. No. 10 of the notification, the other two articles, namely, tapes and sleeving, were not cloth and therefore attracted duty specified under entry at Sl. No. 11. In the appeal memo, no contest is made as to the sleevings, but it is claimed that tapes would receive the benefit since tapes are nothing but narrow woven fabrics.
2. At the time of personal hearing, the appellants were not present in spite of notice having been issued to them. After hearing Sh. M. Haja Mohideen, ld. D.R., we proceed to decide the case on merits.
3. The Collector has held that tapes cannot be equated with fabrics since the tape does not have substantial surface area in relation to its thickness. This definition was adopted by him from the book “Textile Terms and Definitions” published by Manchester Textile Institute, a reference to which was made by the Tribunal in the case of Formica India, Pune reported in 1984 E.C.R. 1284. The term “substantial” merely is a synonym for the term “considerable”. The thickness of any fabrics is so small that the surface area of even an inch wide tape would be substantial compared thereto. The tape has been defined in the Fair childs Dictionery of Textiles as narrow woven fabric not more than 8″ wide. In the Central Excise Tariff, tapes have always been classifiable alongwith parent fibre. In Notification No. 44/86-C.E. at Sl. No. 5 cotton fabrics of not more than 15 cms. in width are prescribed attracting nil rate of duty. In the Fair childs Dictionery of Textile, narrow fabric has been defined as a general term for tapes, weavings, ribbons and other materials. The same source cites a definition of such fabrics by the Federal Trade Commission as having a width of 12″ or less. Therefore, even going by the definition, accepted by the ld. Commissioner, there was no cause to hold that tape was not a fabric. The benefit of the entry at Sl. No. 10 of the Notification 52/86-C.E. was available to them. To this extent, the order of the Commissioner is wrong and is set aside with the direction for consequential relief, if any.