{"id":12802,"date":"2010-07-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010"},"modified":"2016-07-25T09:10:06","modified_gmt":"2016-07-25T03:40:06","slug":"national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","title":{"rendered":"National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: D Jain<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: D.K. Jain, Anil R. Dave<\/div>\n<pre>                                                                            REPORTABLE\n\n                 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n\n                  CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION\n\n                   CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3403 OF 2003\n\n\nNATIONAL LEATHER CLOTH                            ...    APPELLANT\nMANUFACTURING CO.\n\n                                 VERSUS\n\n\nUNION OF INDIA &amp; ANR.                             ...    RESPONDENTS\n\n\n\n                            JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>D.K. JAIN, J.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>1. This appeal, by special leave, is directed against the judgment and order<\/p>\n<p>   dated 10th July 2002, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay,<\/p>\n<p>   whereby the High Court has dismissed the writ petition filed by the<\/p>\n<p>   appellant (for short &#8220;the assessee&#8221;) and affirmed the order passed by the<\/p>\n<p>   Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, Bombay-II (&#8220;the Adjudicating<\/p>\n<p>   Authority&#8221; for short), rejecting the claim preferred by the assessee for<\/p>\n<p>   refund of the excess amount of excise duty paid by them as time barred<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                           2<\/span><\/p>\n<p>   as also on merits on account of disallowance of post manufacturing<\/p>\n<p>   expenses for the purpose of valuation of the goods in terms of Section 4<\/p>\n<p>   of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (for short &#8220;the Act&#8221;) as it existed at the<\/p>\n<p>   relevant time.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>2. The background facts, giving rise to this appeal, are as follows:<\/p>\n<p>      The assessee was engaged in the manufacture of coated fabrics. The<\/p>\n<p>price of goods declared by the assessee in the price list, as required under<\/p>\n<p>Rule 173C of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 (for short &#8220;the Rules&#8221;), was<\/p>\n<p>approved by the Revenue from time to time. However, for the first time, in<\/p>\n<p>the two revised price lists, both dated 12th November 1980, the assessee<\/p>\n<p>indicated that prices declared by them earlier contained certain post<\/p>\n<p>manufacturing expenses, which had to be excluded while computing the<\/p>\n<p>value of the fabric for the purpose of assessment to excise duty. The claim<\/p>\n<p>was rejected by the Adjudicating Authority vide order dated 7th January<\/p>\n<p>1981. Thereafter, the assessee, vide their letter dated 7th July 1981, made a<\/p>\n<p>claim of consolidated refund, amounting to Rs.40,18,805.60, for the period<\/p>\n<p>from 13th November 1977 to 12th November 1980, representing differential<\/p>\n<p>excess duty paid by them on various elements of post manufacturing<\/p>\n<p>expenses. One of the deductions so claimed, with which we are concerned<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                             3<\/span><\/p>\n<p>in this appeal, was on account of cost of material used for packing the final<\/p>\n<p>product. Having failed to get any response, the assessee filed a Writ Petition<\/p>\n<p>(No.1001 of 1981) in the Bombay High Court seeking appropriate directions<\/p>\n<p>for refund along with interest thereon. On 8th February 1982, the assessee<\/p>\n<p>revised their refund claim to Rs.40,59,856.40\/-. During the pendency of the<\/p>\n<p>petition, certain interim orders regarding deposit of the said amount by the<\/p>\n<p>revenue and submission of documentary evidence by the assessee before the<\/p>\n<p>Adjudicating Authority were passed by the High Court. Eventually, upon<\/p>\n<p>consideration of the evidence adduced by the assessee, vide order dated 12th<\/p>\n<p>April 1984, the Adjudicating Authority rejected their claim for excluding the<\/p>\n<p>cost of polythene bags, printed as well as plain, and hessian cloth used for<\/p>\n<p>packing the fabrics.   The Adjudicating Authority was of the view that the<\/p>\n<p>packing of coated fabrics in polythene bags for delivery to the customers<\/p>\n<p>located in Bombay as also packing of three such rolls in hessian cloth and<\/p>\n<p>stitching them into one bundle for dispatch to up-country customers was in<\/p>\n<p>the normal course of trade and, therefore, there was nothing special about<\/p>\n<p>such packing so as to exclude its cost from the value of the fabric. The<\/p>\n<p>Adjudicating Authority also held that the refund claim was barred by time.<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                              4<\/span><\/p>\n<p>3. On rejection of the claim, the assessee amended the writ petition in order<\/p>\n<p>   to challenge the validity of order dated 12th April 1984. As stated above,<\/p>\n<p>   the order of the Adjudicating Authority has been affirmed by the High<\/p>\n<p>   Court. Rejecting the plea of the assessee that additional packing of three<\/p>\n<p>   rolls of fabric in hessian cloth was done at the specific request of the up-<\/p>\n<p>   country customers in order to protect the packed fabric from damage<\/p>\n<p>   during the course of transportation and, therefore, at least the cost of such<\/p>\n<p>   secondary packing should be excluded from the assessable value, the<\/p>\n<p>   High Court held as follows:\n<\/p>\n<p>\n      &#8220;&#8230;in view of the clear finding given by the adjudicating<br \/>\n      authority to the effect that the Assessee has been uniformly<br \/>\n      using hessian cloth for all the delivery to the up-country<br \/>\n      customers, irrespective of any specific request, the use of<br \/>\n      hessian cloth as secondary packing has to be held to be normal<br \/>\n      packing which are offered to the wholesalers at the factory gate.<br \/>\n      In view of the clear finding given by the Adjudicating<br \/>\n      Authority and in the light of decision of the Apex Court in the<br \/>\n      case of Union of India Vs. MRF reported in 1995 (77) ELT<br \/>\n      433, the cost of the secondary packaging in which the goods are<br \/>\n      ordinarily sold to the wholesalers is liable to be included in the<br \/>\n      assessable value. In this view of the matter denial of deduction<br \/>\n      on account of secondary packaging from the assessable value as<br \/>\n      post manufacturing expenses is justified. Apart from that, it is<br \/>\n      not the case of the assessee that the secondary packing is of a<br \/>\n      durable nature and is returned by the buyer to the assessee.<br \/>\n      Therefore, the cost of such packing has to be included in the<br \/>\n      assessable value.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                5<\/span><\/p>\n<p>4. The High Court also held that the refund claim was beyond the period<\/p>\n<p>      prescribed under the Act. Aggrieved, the assessee is before us in this<\/p>\n<p>      appeal.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>5. Vide order dated 31st March 2003, leave was granted limited to the<\/p>\n<p>      question &#8220;whether the cost of secondary packing is to be included in the<\/p>\n<p>      assessable value of the appellant&#8217;s goods?&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>6. We have heard learned counsel for the parties.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>7. In support of the appeal, Mr. Jay Savla, learned counsel appearing for the<\/p>\n<p>      appellant, submitted that the High Court as well as the Adjudicating<\/p>\n<p>      Authority failed to appreciate the distinction between the primary and the<\/p>\n<p>      secondary packing, as enunciated by this Court in Union of India &amp; Ors.<\/p>\n<p>      Vs. Bombay Tyre International Ltd. &amp; Ors.1.              Learned counsel<\/p>\n<p>      contended that admittedly the rolls of coated fabric were packed in<\/p>\n<p>      polythene bags for sale at the factory gate in the course of wholesale<\/p>\n<p>      trade and the bundling of three such rolls in hessian cloth was an<\/p>\n<p>      additional packing done at the request of up-country customers in order<\/p>\n<p>      to protect the goods from damage and, therefore, the cost of such packing<\/p>\n<p>      could not be included in the value of the cloth. In support of the plea that<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">1<\/span><br \/>\n    (1984) 1 SCC 467<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                6<\/span><\/p>\n<p>      additional packing according to the requirement of the buyer constitutes<\/p>\n<p>      secondary packing and, therefore, its cost cannot be included in the value<\/p>\n<p>      of the fabric, reliance was placed on the decisions of this Court in<\/p>\n<p>      Commissioner of Central Excise, Allahabad &amp; Ors. Vs. Hindustan<\/p>\n<p>      Safety Glass Works Ltd. &amp; Ors.2 and Commissioner of Central Excise,<\/p>\n<p>      Calcutta Vs. Hindustan National Glass &amp; Industries Ltd.3<\/p>\n<p>8. Per contra, Mr. R.P. Bhat, learned senior counsel appearing for the<\/p>\n<p>      revenue, while supporting the decision of the High Court, submitted that<\/p>\n<p>      in view of the finding by the Adjudicating Authority, affirmed by the<\/p>\n<p>      High Court to the effect that hessian cloth was the standard packing for<\/p>\n<p>      the fabric for sale in the wholesale market, its cost was includible in the<\/p>\n<p>      value of the goods in terms of Section 4 of the Act.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>9. The short question arising for consideration is whether the cost of<\/p>\n<p>      packing of fabric in hessian cloth, which, according to the assessee, is not<\/p>\n<p>      required for sale of their goods at the factory gate and is necessitated to<\/p>\n<p>      protect the fabric from damage during the course of transportation to up-<\/p>\n<p>      country customers is includible in the assessable value of the coated<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">2<\/span><br \/>\n    (2005) 3 SCC 468<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">3<\/span><br \/>\n    (2005) 3 SCC 489<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                7<\/span><\/p>\n<p>   fabric manufactured by the assessee for the purpose of levy of excise<\/p>\n<p>   duty?\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>10.Section 4 of the Act, in so far as it is relevant for our purpose, reads as<\/p>\n<p>   follows :\n<\/p>\n<p>\n      &#8220;4. Valuation of excisable goods for purposes of charging of<br \/>\n      duty of excise.&#8211;(1) Where under this Act, the duty of excise is<br \/>\n      chargeable on any excisable goods with reference to value, such<br \/>\n      value shall, subject to the other provisions of this section, be<br \/>\n      deemed to be&#8211;\n<\/p>\n<p>      (a)             the normal price thereof, that is to say, the price at<br \/>\n                      which such goods are ordinarily sold by the assessee<br \/>\n                      to a buyer in the course of wholesale trade for<br \/>\n                      delivery at the time and place of removal, where the<br \/>\n                      buyer is not a related person and the price is the sole<br \/>\n                      consideration for the sale:\n<\/p>\n<pre>               ....            ....         ....         ....\n\n      (4)      For the purposes of this section,--\n\n               ....            ....         ....         ....\n\n      (d)      `value', in relation to any excisable goods,--\n\n<\/pre>\n<p>      (i)   where the goods are delivered at the time of removal in a<br \/>\n      packed condition, includes the cost of such packing except the<br \/>\n      cost of the packing which is of a durable nature and is<br \/>\n      returnable by the buyer to the assessee;\n<\/p>\n<p>      Explanation.&#8211; In this sub-clause `packing&#8217; means the wrapper,<br \/>\n      container, bobbin, pirn, spool, reel or warp beam or any other<br \/>\n      thing in which or on which the excisable goods are wrapped,<br \/>\n      contained or wound;&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                           8<\/span><\/p>\n<p>11.The Section provides as to how the value of excisable goods is to be<\/p>\n<p>  determined. The expression &#8220;value&#8221; has been extended to include the<\/p>\n<p>  cost of packing. As per Section 4(4)(d)(i) of the Act, the cost of packing<\/p>\n<p>  is to be included in working out the value of the goods, unless the<\/p>\n<p>  packing is of a durable nature and is returnable by the buyer to the<\/p>\n<p>  assessee. Explanation thereto enumerates various types of packing, of<\/p>\n<p>  which cost has to be included in the value of the goods. It is evident that<\/p>\n<p>  by including the cost of packing in the value of goods, the legislature has<\/p>\n<p>  sought to extend the levy beyond the manufactured article itself and,<\/p>\n<p>  therefore, the provision has to be strictly construed.<\/p>\n<p>12.Although the provision is clear and unambiguous, yet the concept of<\/p>\n<p>  &#8220;primary packing&#8221; and &#8220;secondary packing&#8221; was evolved by this Court in<\/p>\n<p>  Bombay Tyre International Ltd. (supra). In that case, while observing<\/p>\n<p>  that the degree of packing would vary from one class of excisable goods<\/p>\n<p>  to another and the packing may be of different grades, which may be<\/p>\n<p>  necessary to make an article marketable, it was held &#8220;that the degree of<\/p>\n<p>  secondary packing which is necessary for putting the excisable article in<\/p>\n<p>  the condition in which it is generally sold in the wholesale market at the<\/p>\n<p>  factory gate is the degree of packing whose cost can be included in the<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                              9<\/span><\/p>\n<p>      &#8220;value&#8221; of the article for the purpose of the excise levy.&#8221; Thus, the test<\/p>\n<p>      laid down was that it is only the cost of packing ordinarily required for<\/p>\n<p>      selling the goods in the course of wholesale trade to a wholesale buyer at<\/p>\n<p>      the factory gate which would be includible in the value of the goods and<\/p>\n<p>      not the cost of any additional or special packing.<\/p>\n<p>13.In Union of India &amp; Ors. Vs. Godfrey Philips India Ltd.4, a question<\/p>\n<p>      arose as to whether the cigarettes manufactured and packed in cardboard<\/p>\n<p>      packets, each containing 10 to 20 cigarettes and those packets were<\/p>\n<p>      packed in corrugated fibreboard cartons\/containers, the cost of corrugated<\/p>\n<p>      fibreboard containers was liable to be included in determination of the<\/p>\n<p>      value of the cigarettes for the purpose of excise duty. The majority view<\/p>\n<p>      was that since the corrugated cartons were employed as secondary<\/p>\n<p>      packing only for the purpose of avoiding damage or injury during transit<\/p>\n<p>      and were not necessary for selling the cigarettes in the wholesale market<\/p>\n<p>      at the factory gate, their cost was not to be included in the value of the<\/p>\n<p>      cigarettes for the purpose of levy of excise duty.<\/p>\n<p>14.In Geep Industrial Syndicate Ltd. Vs. Union of India5, the assessee was<\/p>\n<p>      manufacturing batteries and torches.          The torches and batteries<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">4<\/span><br \/>\n    (1985) 4 SCC 369<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">5<\/span><br \/>\n    1992 (61) E.L.T. 328 (S.C.)<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                          10<\/span><\/p>\n<p>   manufactured by them were first packed in polythene bags and then these<\/p>\n<p>   polythene bags were placed in cardboard cartons. The cardboard cartons<\/p>\n<p>   were placed in the wooden boxes at the time of delivery at the factory<\/p>\n<p>   gate.   Though there was no dispute about the inclusion of cost of<\/p>\n<p>   polythene bags and cardboard cartons, the dispute was whether the cost<\/p>\n<p>   of wooden boxes, in which the cardboard boxes were packed, was to be<\/p>\n<p>   included in the value of batteries and torches. It was held by a bench of<\/p>\n<p>   three Judges of this Court that the wooden boxes were in the nature to<\/p>\n<p>   secondary packing and, therefore, their cost was not includible in the<\/p>\n<p>   value of batteries and torches.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>15.In Hindustan Safety Glass Works Ltd. (supra) referring to the ratio of<\/p>\n<p>   decisions in Bombay Tyre International Ltd. (supra) and Geep<\/p>\n<p>   Industrial Syndicate Ltd. (supra), again a bench of three learned Judges<\/p>\n<p>   summed up the test on the issue, as follows :-\n<\/p>\n<p>\n      &#8220;14&#8230;The test is whether the packing is done in order to put the<br \/>\n      goods in a marketable condition. Another way of testing would<br \/>\n      be to see whether the goods are capable of reaching the market<br \/>\n      without the type of packing concerned. Each case would have<br \/>\n      to be decided on its own facts. It must also be remembered that<br \/>\n      Section 4(4)(d)(i) specifies that the cost of packing is<br \/>\n      includible when the packing is not of a durable nature and<br \/>\n      returnable to the buyer. Thus, the burden to show that the cost<br \/>\n      of packing is not includible is always on the assessee. Also<br \/>\n      under Section 4(a) the value is to be the normal price at which<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                           11<\/span><\/p>\n<p>      such goods are ordinarily sold in the course of wholesale trade<br \/>\n      for delivery at the time and place of removal.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>16.Having examined the facts of the instant case on the touchstone of the<\/p>\n<p>   test laid down in the aforementioned cases, we are of the opinion that<\/p>\n<p>   since admittedly the fabric manufactured by the assessee was sold by the<\/p>\n<p>   assessee to the wholesalers at the factory gate only in polythene bags, the<\/p>\n<p>   further packing of three rolls in hessian cloth was not in the course of<\/p>\n<p>   normal delivery to the customers in the wholesale trade at the factory<\/p>\n<p>   gate and was, therefore, not required to make the product marketable.<\/p>\n<p>   The additional packing in the nature of a secondary packing was done for<\/p>\n<p>   the purpose of convenience of the up-country customers in the<\/p>\n<p>   transportation of the goods manufactured by the assessee. We, therefore,<\/p>\n<p>   hold that the cost of secondary packing in hessian cloth cannot be<\/p>\n<p>   included in the value of the goods in terms of Section 4(4)(d)(i) of the<\/p>\n<p>   Act for the purpose of assessment of excise duty.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>17.In so far as the question of limitation is concerned, as already stated,<\/p>\n<p>   leave was granted only on the afore-noted limited issue and, therefore,<\/p>\n<p>   we express no opinion on that aspect.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                                                                                     12<\/span><\/p>\n<p>18.We, accordingly, allow the appeal partly and set aside the impugned<\/p>\n<p>  order to the extent indicated above, leaving the parties to bear their own<\/p>\n<p>  costs.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                               &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;J.\n<\/p>\n<p>                                       (D.K. JAIN)<\/p>\n<p>                                               &#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.J.<br \/>\n                                      (ANIL R. DAVE)<br \/>\nNEW DELHI;\n<\/p>\n<p>JULY 23, 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 Author: D Jain Bench: D.K. Jain, Anil R. Dave REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3403 OF 2003 NATIONAL LEATHER CLOTH &#8230; APPELLANT MANUFACTURING CO. VERSUS UNION OF INDIA &amp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Legal India Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@legaliadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Legal_india\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Legal India Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Legal India Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea\"},\"headline\":\"National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\"},\"wordCount\":2418,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Supreme Court of India\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\",\"name\":\"National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/\",\"name\":\"Free Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\",\"description\":\"Search and read the latest judgements, orders, and rulings from the Supreme Court of India and all High Courts. A comprehensive database for lawyers, advocates, and law students.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Free judgements of Supreme Court & High Court of India | Legal India\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\",\"alternateName\":\"Legal India\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/legal-india-icon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/legal-india-icon.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/LegalindiaCom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Legal_india\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea\",\"name\":\"Legal India Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Legal India Admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/legaliadmin\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legalindia.com\\\/judgments\\\/author\\\/legal-india-admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","og_url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","og_site_name":"Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/","article_published_time":"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":512,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Legal India Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@legaliadmin","twitter_site":"@Legal_india","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Legal India Admin","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010"},"author":{"name":"Legal India Admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea"},"headline":"National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010","datePublished":"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010"},"wordCount":2418,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Supreme Court of India"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010","name":"National Leather Cloth ... vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-07-22T18:30:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-25T03:40:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/national-leather-cloth-vs-union-of-india-anr-on-23-july-2010#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"National Leather Cloth &#8230; vs Union Of India &amp; Anr on 23 July, 2010"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/","name":"Free Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India","description":"Search and read the latest judgements, orders, and rulings from the Supreme Court of India and all High Courts. A comprehensive database for lawyers, advocates, and law students.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Free judgements of Supreme Court & High Court of India | Legal India","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#organization","name":"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India","alternateName":"Legal India","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/09\/legal-india-icon.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Judgements of Supreme Court & High Court | Legal India"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LegalindiaCom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Legal_india"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/#\/schema\/person\/0bfdffe9059fb8bb24a86d094609c5ea","name":"Legal India Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4faa9d728ed1af3b73d52225c7f12901ac726fe6f7ea0a3348a1d51f3a930987?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Legal India Admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.legalindia.com","https:\/\/x.com\/legaliadmin"],"url":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/author\/legal-india-admin"}]}},"modified_by":null,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}