Small scale exemption cannot be denied by clubbing separate branded clearances unless the notification expressly allows aggregation.

Clearances of goods manufactured for another concern under that concern's brand name, and cleared on payment of duty at the normal rate, could not be clubbed with the assessee's own clearances for small scale industry exemption unless the notification expressly permitted aggregation. Because the assessee was treated as an independent proprietary concern and no legal basis for clubbing was shown, eligibility had to be examined on its own clearances alone. The operative effect is that third-party branded, duty-paid clearances were excluded from the exemption computation under Notification No. 1/93-C.E.

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Issues: Whether the clearances of goods manufactured for another concern using its brand name could be clubbed with the assessee's own clearances for determining eligibility to small scale industry exemption under Notification No. 1/93-C.E.

Analysis: The goods manufactured on behalf of the other concern bore that concern's brand name and were cleared on payment of duty at the normal rate. The assessee was found to be an independent proprietary concern, and the record did not disclose any legal basis for clubbing the two sets of clearances merely because some manufacture was undertaken for the other concern. In these circumstances, the eligibility for exemption had to be examined on the assessee's own clearances, without aggregating the clearances made for the other concern.

Conclusion: The clearances could not be clubbed for the purpose of denying small scale industry exemption, and the assessee remained entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 1/93-C.E.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods manufactured for another concern are independently cleared under that concern's brand name and on payment of duty, such clearances cannot be clubbed with the manufacturer's own clearances for determining eligibility to small scale industry exemption unless the applicable notification expressly provides for such aggregation.

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