Trade mark registration relates back to application date, preserving small scale industry exemption under the notifications.

Small scale industry exemption under Notifications Nos. 175/86-C.E. and 1/93-C.E. could not be denied merely because trade mark registration was granted later, since registration under Section 23(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 relates back to the date of application and is deemed effective from that date. As the application date on the certificate was 01.05.1992, the brand name was treated as registered from that date. The objection based only on the later grant date was therefore unsustainable, and the assessee remained entitled to the notification benefit from 01.05.1992 onwards.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to small scale industry exemption under Notifications Nos. 175/86-C.E. and 1/93-C.E. where the trade mark registration, though granted later, related back to the date of application.

Analysis: The Notifications denied exemption only if the brand name belonged to another entity not entitled to SSI benefit. The decisive question was the effective date of trade mark registration. Section 23(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides that once registration is granted, the trade mark is registered as of the date of the application, and that date is deemed to be the date of registration. On the certificate produced, the application date was 01.05.1992, so the registration operated from that date. The denial of exemption solely on the basis of the later date of grant was therefore unsustainable.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the benefit of the notifications from 01.05.1992 onwards, and the Revenue's objection to that extent failed.

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