Destructive quality control testing of cable samples did not create excisable goods, so no excise duty arose.

Pieces of cable removed from drums for mandatory quality control testing were held not to be excisable goods because the test was destructive and rendered the sample unusable. The Tribunal treated the testing as an integral contractual requirement rather than a separate process producing marketable goods, so no excise duty was payable on the destroyed cable pieces.

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Issues: Whether the pieces of cables removed from the drum for mandatory quality control testing, which were destroyed in the process, could be treated as excisable goods liable to excise duty.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier decision on the same issue and accepted that the quality control test was a destructive test. The portion of cable taken out for testing became unusable after the mandatory test, and the testing was treated as an integral part of the contractual requirement rather than a separate process yielding marketable goods.

Conclusion: The tested cable pieces were not excisable goods and no excise duty was payable on them. The appeal was therefore allowed.

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