SSI exemption and brand name use: same mark on different products does not justify denial of the benefit.

Small-scale industry exemption under Notification No. 1/93-C.E. cannot be denied merely because two concerns use the same brand name if that name is used on different products. The Tribunal followed the larger Bench view that brand-name disqualification applies only when the brand is used on the same product for which SSI benefit is claimed. Here, one concern used "Queen" and "Supreme" on tube light patties, while the other used those names on chokes, so the products were distinct. On that basis, the denial of exemption was not justified and the Revenue's case failed.

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Issues: Whether the benefit of small-scale industry exemption under Notification No. 1/93-C.E. could be denied on the ground that the brand names used by the respondent and another concern were the same, when they were used on different products.

Analysis: The respondent used the brand names "Queen" and "Supreme" on tube light patties, while the other concern used those brand names on chokes. The issue turns on whether the brand name relied upon for denial of exemption must be used on the same product. The larger bench view accepted by the Tribunal held that the brand name must be on the same product before the SSI benefit can be denied. On that reasoning, the Commissioner's finding that the products were different was upheld.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption was not justified, since the brand names were used on different products and the Revenue failed to make out a case.

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