Printing on PVC sheets did not amount to manufacture of a new product; Chapter 39 classification was upheld.

Printing on PVC sheets did not create a new and distinct product where the notice itself proceeded on the basis that the goods remained the same plastic sheets with only a printed design. On that footing, the dispute was confined to classification within Chapter 39, and the Tribunal could not sustain a finding that printing brought into existence a separate commercially identifiable product or a second levy on the same goods. The goods therefore remained classifiable under Chapter 39 Heading 39.20, and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether printing on printed PVC sheets resulted in manufacture of a new and distinct product so as to shift classification from Chapter 39 Heading 39.20 and justify the demand raised.

Analysis: The show cause notice proceeded on the basis that the product remained the same plastic sheet even after printing, with the only difference being that it was printed with design. On that basis, the dispute was confined to classification within Chapter 39 and did not support a case that a new product known as printed PVC sheets had emerged. The Tribunal's finding that printing produced a new identifiable product with a different commercial identity went beyond the case set up in the notice and could not be sustained. Once the Department accepted that no different product emerged after printing, there was no basis to treat the process as manufacture giving rise to a second levy on the same goods.

Conclusion: Printing of the PVC sheets did not result in manufacture of a new product, and the goods remained classifiable under Chapter 39 Heading 39.20. The assessee succeeded.

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