Tribunal rules affixing stickers on imported goods not manufacturing, no excise duty. Precedent soap case cited.

The Tribunal rejected the Revenue's appeal, affirming that affixing stickers on imported goods by the company did not constitute manufacturing under the relevant tariff notes. The Tribunal relied on the precedent set by a similar case involving soap packaging, emphasizing that the labeling process did not alter the original information on the goods and therefore did not trigger excise duty obligations. The goods were deemed marketable upon import, and the labeling process did not change that status, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's argument.

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Issues Involved:
The appeal questions whether affixing stickers by a company on imported goods constitutes manufacturing under specific tariff notes.

Analysis:
The appeal concerns whether affixing labels by M/s. Manisha International Pvt. Ltd. on imported goods amounts to manufacturing as per Note 3 of Chapters 18 & 19 of the Central Excise Tariff Act. The Revenue argues that the labeling process makes the products marketable, triggering excise duty obligations. On the other hand, the respondents contend that the process does not constitute manufacturing, citing precedents such as CCE v. Panchsheel Soap Factory.

In the case of Panchsheel Soap Factory, the Tribunal ruled that merely pasting stickers on imported soap packaging to display the importer's name and MRP, as required by the Standards of Weight and Measures Act, does not amount to labeling or re-labeling. The Tribunal emphasized that the process did not alter the original information on the packaging, thus not meeting the criteria for manufacturing under Note 6 of Chapter 34. This decision was supported by the Central Board of Excise & Customs regarding imported medicines.

The Tribunal in the current appeal found no merit in the Revenue's argument that affixing labels made the products marketable, as the goods were already marketable upon import. Notably, Note 6 to Chapter 34 and Note 3 to Chapters 18 & 19 share similar wording. Following the precedent set by Panchsheel Soap Factory, the Tribunal rejected the Revenue's appeal, affirming that the labeling process undertaken by the respondents did not amount to manufacturing under the relevant tariff notes.

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