Manufacture test for PVC pipes: socket fitting, quality checks and branding did not create a new product.

Fitting sockets on duty-paid semi-finished PVC pipes, carrying out quality control tests, and affixing a trade or brand name did not amount to manufacture because the processes did not bring into existence a new product with a different name, character or function. The pipes remained pipes, the tests only showed conformity with ISI standards, and branding alone did not create a new item. On that basis, the demand and penalty could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether fitting sockets on duty-paid semi-finished PVC pipes, carrying out quality control tests, and affixing a trade or brand name amounted to manufacture.

Analysis: The operations undertaken did not bring into existence a new product with a different name, character, or function. Fitting sockets left the pipes as pipes, quality control tests merely indicated conformity to ISI standards without altering the goods, and affixing a trade or brand name did not create a new item. The reasoning adopted below was consistent with the applicable precedents relied upon for the proposition that such processes, by themselves, do not amount to manufacture.

Conclusion: The processes did not amount to manufacture and the demand and penalty could not be sustained.

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