Customs Tribunal: Cutting Conveyor Belting Not Manufacturing for Duty.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) that cutting conveyor belting into required sizes does not amount to manufacture for duty imposition. The Court emphasized that the cutting must result in a new marketable product to qualify as manufacturing, which was not demonstrated by the Revenue in this case. Citing precedent, the Court dismissed the appeals, affirming that cutting conveyor belting into smaller sizes does not trigger duty imposition.

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Issues:
Whether cutting of conveyor belting into required sizes amounts to manufacture for the purpose of duty imposition.

Analysis:
The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether cutting conveyor belting into required sizes constitutes manufacture for duty imposition. The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) had previously ruled that such cutting activities do not amount to manufacture. The Court agreed with this decision, emphasizing that mere cutting of the conveyor belt does not automatically qualify as manufacturing unless it results in a new marketable product. The Court highlighted that the Revenue failed to demonstrate how the cutting transformed the product into something new and marketable. The judgment referenced a prior case, 'Servo-Med Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise, Mumbai,' to support this conclusion. Ultimately, the Court dismissed the appeals, upholding the CESTAT's decision that cutting conveyor belting into smaller sizes does not amount to manufacture for duty imposition.

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