Manufacture creates a distinct commercial commodity: coal dust turned into taxable coal briquettes despite prior tax on the raw material.

Coal briquettes manufactured from coal dust were treated as a separate commercial commodity because the manufacturing process under the U.P. Trade Tax Act produced a distinct product with different shape, character, combustibility and market identity. The prior payment of tax on the raw material did not prevent levy on the finished product. The declared goods provisions under the Central Sales Tax Act did not assist the assessee where the tribunal found that the commodity had lost its original identity and emerged as a new taxable product.

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Issues: Whether coal briquettes manufactured from coal dust, on which tax had already been paid, were liable to tax as a different commercial commodity or were exempt as the same commodity of coal.

Analysis: The statutory definition of "manufacture" under the U.P. Trade Tax Act was wide and included producing, making, altering, processing, treating or adapting goods. The Court distinguished mere processing from manufacture, noting that the decisive question was whether the process resulted in a distinct commercial commodity. Coal dust was found to lose its identity in the manufacture of coal briquettes, which emerged with different shape, character, combustibility and market identity. The earlier payment of tax on the raw material did not prevent levy on the manufactured product. The declared goods provisions under the Central Sales Tax Act did not assist the assessee because the commodity in question, as found by the Tribunal, was a different taxable product after manufacture.

Conclusion: Coal briquettes were held to be a different commercial commodity liable to tax, and the revision failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory definition of manufacture is wide, a commodity produced from taxed raw material is taxable as a separate product if the manufacturing process causes the raw material to lose its identity and a distinct commercial commodity emerges.

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