SSI exemption denied where trade mark gave only manufacturing rights, and false brand ownership declaration was upheld.

SSI exemption was denied because the trade mark arrangement granted only a limited right to manufacture mineral water and did not transfer the right to sell goods under the brand name. On that reading, the assessee could not be treated as the owner of the brand name, since a trade mark without sale rights was treated as lacking real ownership value. The assessee's declaration in the classification papers that it owned the brand name was also found false, so the finding of misdeclaration was sustained and the appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to Small Scale Industry exemption when the trade mark arrangement conferred only a limited right to manufacture and not the right to sell goods under the brand name, and whether the declaration of ownership of the brand name amounted to misdeclaration.

Analysis: The assignment deed was read as conferring only the right to manufacture mineral water at the assessee's Nasik plant. It did not transfer the right to sell the goods under the brand name, and a trade mark without sale rights was treated as having no real value for ownership purposes. On that basis, the assessee could not be regarded as the owner of the brand name. The record also showed that the assessee had declared itself as the owner of the brand name in the classification declaration, which was found to be false.

Conclusion: The denial of SSI exemption was upheld, the finding of misdeclaration was sustained, and the appeal failed.

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