No manufacture arises from dual-container packing of duty-paid aluminium paste and varnish, so excise duty was not leviable.

Packing duty-paid aluminium paste and varnish in separate containers within a single outer container did not create a distinct commercial product. As no new commodity emerged from the packing process, the goods could not be treated as ready mixed paint or paint not otherwise specified for duty purposes. The classification basis therefore failed, and the process was held not to amount to manufacture, so no duty was leviable on the goods so packed.

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Issues: Whether packing duty-paid aluminium paste and varnish in separate containers placed together in a single outer container amounted to manufacture of a new commodity and attracted duty as ready mixed paint or paint not otherwise specified.

Analysis: The dispute was treated as governed by the same principle earlier applied in a connected matter concerning similar dual-container packing. The decisive consideration was that placing duty-paid aluminium paste and varnish in a combined package did not bring into existence a distinct commercial product. Since no new commodity emerged from the packing process, the basis for treating the goods as a different excisable article was absent and the classification question did not survive.

Conclusion: The process did not amount to manufacture, and duty could not be levied on the goods so packed.

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