Branding alone does not make a buyer a manufacturer under excise law when production is done by another concern.

A buyer that purchases typewriter ribbons from another concern and sells them under its own brand name is not a manufacturer under Section 2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, where it does not participate in production, supply raw materials or labour, or exercise technical control over manufacture. Mere embossing of brand names on containers and price tags does not convert a marketer into a manufacturer. The note also indicates that the actual producer treated the goods as its own excisable clearances and had complied separately, making the excise demand against the petitioner unsustainable and the impugned order liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner company, which purchased typewriter ribbons manufactured by another concern and sold them under its own brand name, could be treated as a manufacturer under Section 2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and whether the demand and confirmation of central excise duty were valid.

Analysis: Manufacture of the ribbons was completed in the factory of the actual producer. The petitioner did not participate in the manufacturing process, did not supply raw materials or labour, and did not exercise technical guidance or control over production. The mere embossing of the company's brand name on the containers and price tags did not convert a buyer or marketer into a manufacturer within the meaning of Section 2(f). The material also showed that the actual manufacturer treated the goods as its own excisable clearances and had separately complied with tax obligations, while the impugned order proceeded on an unsupported analogy with a loan licensee.

Conclusion: The petitioner company was not a manufacturer under Section 2(f), and the order confirming excise duty against it was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded, the impugned excise order was quashed, and the declaration sought by the petitioners was granted.

Ratio Decidendi: A person who merely purchases goods manufactured by another concern and markets them under its own brand name, without participating in or controlling the manufacturing process, is not a manufacturer within Section 2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.

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