Ammonia transfer into cylinders is not manufacture and does not attract excise duty under the tariff chapter note.

Transferring ammonia from bulk tankers into smaller cylinders did not amount to manufacture under Chapter Note 10 to Chapter 28 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, because the activity involved only transfer without labelling, re-labelling, treatment to make the product marketable, or repacking of packages. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that such filling of ammonia into cylinders was not manufacture and did not attract excise duty, so no duty liability arose.

---

---

Issues: Whether filling ammonia from bulk tankers into smaller cylinders amounted to manufacture under Chapter Note 10 to Chapter 28 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

Analysis: The activity involved only transferring ammonia received in tankers into cylinders. There was no labelling or re-labelling, and no treatment was undertaken to render the product marketable. Tankers were not treated as packages, so the activity could not be regarded as repacking. The same view had already been taken in an earlier decision holding that such transfer of ammonia from bulk tankers into smaller cylinders did not amount to manufacture and did not attract excise duty.

Conclusion: The activity did not amount to manufacture under the chapter note and no duty liability arose.

---