Own registered trade mark does not bar small-scale exemption where the brand name is not another person's.

A manufacturer using its own registered trade mark cannot be treated as affixing goods with the brand name or trade name of another person for purposes of Notification No. 175/86-C.E. The assessee was the registered proprietor of the mark "Vulkan" and, by virtue of registration, held the exclusive right to use it for the registered goods. The paragraph 7 exclusion applied only where the goods bore another person's brand name or trade name, not the manufacturer's own registered mark. The exemption therefore remained available, and the show-cause notice and connected letter were quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessee was disqualified from availing the small-scale industry exemption under Notification No. 175/86-C.E. dated 1-3-1986 on the ground that it affixed its goods with the brand name or trade name of another person.

Analysis: The assessee was the registered proprietor of the trade mark "Vulkan" under Section 28 of the Trade & Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 and, by virtue of such registration, had the exclusive right to use the mark in relation to the registered goods. The exclusion in paragraph 7 of the notification applies only where the manufacturer uses the brand name or trade name of another person who is not eligible for the exemption. Since the assessee was using its own registered trade mark and not the trade mark of another person, the notification bar did not apply.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the exemption and the show-cause notice and connected letter were rightly quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: A manufacturer using its own registered trade mark cannot be said to be affixing the goods with the brand name or trade name of another person for the purpose of denying exemption under the notification.

---