Mere admixture of inert fillers does not amount to manufacture when sulphur retains its essential character and tariff classification.

Mere mixing of molten sulphur with bentonite clay and magnesium oxide did not amount to manufacture because the process did not create a new product with a distinct chemical character, identity, or market recognition. The addition of inert fillers was only to make the sulphur safer for agricultural use and did not alter its essential nature. In the absence of evidence that the mixed product had acquired a separate trade identity, the goods continued to be unrefined sulphur and were not classifiable under Chapter Heading 3824.90; the Revenue's classification was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the imported molten sulphur mixed with bentonite clay and magnesium oxide resulted in manufacture of a new product classifiable under Chapter Heading 3824.90, or whether it continued to remain unrefined sulphur classifiable under Chapter Heading 25.03/25.05 of the Central Excise Tariff.

Analysis: The controlling principle applied was that mere mixing of inert fillers does not amount to manufacture unless the process brings about a new product with a distinct chemical character, identity, or market recognition. The earlier ruling on sulphur mixed with bentonite was followed because the addition of bentonite clay and magnesium oxide was only to facilitate safe agricultural use and did not alter the chemical properties of sulphur. The Revenue also failed to produce evidence showing that the mixed product had acquired a new trade identity or that the process created a different commodity.

Conclusion: The goods did not cease to be unrefined sulphur and were not classifiable under Chapter Heading 3824.90; the classification adopted by the Revenue was unsustainable and the appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Mere admixture of inert fillers, without chemical transformation or emergence of a distinct marketable product, does not constitute manufacture and does not alter the tariff classification of unrefined sulphur.

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