Assembly of components into completed cuisinettes was treated as manufacture, making the finished units excisable and penalty sustainable.

Packing and assembling separately manufactured components into completed twink inframatic cuisinette and twink simmermatic cuisinette was treated as manufacture because the parts were brought together in matched combinations, fitted with accessories, and marketed as new completed units with a distinct ensemble character and utility. Under Central Excise principles, manufacture is not confined to physical transformation and may include creation of a new commodity in the form in which it leaves the depot. The Tribunal also regarded the arrangement as a tax-avoidance device. The completed units were therefore assessable under Tariff Item 33C, and the duty demand and penalty were upheld.

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Issues: Whether the packing and putting together of separately manufactured components into twink inframatic cuisinette and twink simmermatic cuisinette amounted to manufacture of new excisable goods assessable under Tariff Item 33C, and whether the duty demand and penalty were sustainable.

Analysis: The goods received from different sources were not sold as isolated components but were brought together at the depot in matched combinations, with accessories and attachments designed to work with the main equipment. The collections were made to fit, were marketed as completed units, and acquired a new ensemble character and utility in the form in which they left the depot. In Central Excise law, manufacture is not confined to extensive physical transformation; it can include bringing together parts so as to create a new commodity that did not exist earlier in that form. The Tribunal also treated the arrangement as a tax-avoidance device rather than a mere innocent packing activity, and held that the earlier duty paid on individual components did not prevent duty on the completed units.

Conclusion: The packing and assembly amounted to manufacture, the cusinettes were assessable under Tariff Item 33C, and the duty demand and penalty were upheld.

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