Constructive affixation of brand name in bottled aerated water justified denial of small-scale exemption.

Aerated water sold in bottles already embossed with another person's brand name was treated as goods manufactured with that brand name affixed for Notification No. 1/93-C.E. purposes. The expression "affixation" was given a constructive meaning: in the context of bottled aerated water, using embossed bottles to market the product was the practical mode by which the brand name became associated with the goods. The later amendment in Notification No. 59/94-C.E. was taken as supporting this interpretation, and the cited precedent was found inapplicable on the facts. The exemption was therefore rightly denied.

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Issues: Whether aerated water bottled by the assessee in bottles already bearing another person's embossed brand name could be treated as goods manufactured with a brand name of another person affixed thereon so as to fall within the exclusion in Notification No. 1/93-C.E.

Analysis: The bottles used for marketing the aerated water already bore the brand name of another person, and the assessee used those bottles in the process of putting the goods into the market. The expression "affixation" was given a constructive meaning in the context of the goods manufactured. For aerated water, the only practical manner in which the brand name could be associated with the goods was by filling and selling them in the embossed bottles. The later amendment by Notification No. 59/94-C.E. was treated as supporting the view that goods of this type were covered by the exclusion. The cited precedent was held to be inapplicable on the facts.

Conclusion: The assessee was held to have affixed the brand name for the purposes of the notification, and the exemption was rightly denied.

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