2004 (2) TMI 413 - AT - Central Excise

Rubber Hose Pipes Conversion Not Considered Manufacturing: CESTAT Decision

The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi, held that Rubber Hose Pipes conversion does not amount to manufacture based on a previous Tribunal decision. The ... Manufacture - change of character or use - conversion by fitting metal end parts - binding precedential effect of tribunal decisionManufacture - change of character or use - conversion by fitting metal end parts - Whether the conversion of rubber hose pipes into hydraulic hose pipe fittings/connectings/couplings by fitting metal ends amounts to manufacture - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal held that corrugated flexible hose does not undergo a change in its character or use when metal fittings are attached at both ends and that such attachment does not convert the hose into a new excisable product. The appellate bench applied that precedent - Collector of Central Excise, Baroda v. A.B.C. Synthetics P. Ltd. - as determinative. Relying on the reasoning that fitting metal end parts leaves the essential character and use of the flexible hose unchanged, the impugned adjudication which treated the conversion as manufacture was held unsustainable and was set aside.Impugned order treating the attachment of fittings as manufacture is set aside; appeal allowed.Final Conclusion: The Tribunal allowed the appeal, holding that fitting metal fittings/connectors on rubber flexible hose does not change its character or use and therefore does not constitute manufacture; the impugned order is set aside. The Appellate Tribunal CESTAT, New Delhi, in the case of Rubber Hose Pipes conversion, held that it does not amount to manufacture based on a previous Tribunal decision. The appeal against the Commissioner of Central Excise's order was allowed. (2004 (2) TMI 413 - CESTAT, New Delhi)