TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1994 (4) TMI 190
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.... the Department namely the Collector of Central Excise, Bombay-III. The former has been filed by the Assessee. The matter relates to levy of additional duty of Customs (CVD) on the unassembled photo-copier imported by the assessee under Item 33D of the Central Excise Tariff covering office machine and apparatus whether assembled or un-assembled condition. The other appeal relates to the liability to Central Excise duty on the clearance of the assembled photocopier from the factory from the unassembled machines imported earlier. The sequence of events as narrated by the parties is that the assessee imported the unassembled photocopying machines on which the additional duty of customs (CVD) was levied under Item 33D by the Custom House. The a....
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....ount to manufacture so as to attract Central Excise duty once again under Item 33D on its clearance from their factory in the assembled condition. This contention of the assessee found acceptance with the Assistant Collector of Central Excise Division IV, Thane and he granted the refund. Against this order of the Assistant Collector, the Collector filed the Review Application before the Collector of Central Excise (Appeals), Bombay. The Collector (Appeals), Bombay however, found no reason to interfere with the Assistant Collector's order. The Collector (Appeals) found that the assessee has already discharged duty liability under Tariff Item 33D on the unassembled machines and he observed that mere assembling of goods will not amount to manu....
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....duced or thought into existence. Our view is further fortified by the order of the Tribunal in the case of B.E.L. v. Collector of Customs reported in 1990 (50) E.L.T. 567 holding that assembly does not amount to manufacture. The relevant paragraphs of the order are reproduced below : "7. The appellants were given an Industrial Licence for the manufacture of Video Tape Recorder Systems with Monitors with an annual capacity of 500 Nos. In pursuance of this Licence, the appellants started manufacturing Video Tape Recorder System with Monitors, from Feb. 1982. The Import Licence issued to the appellants included in the list attached there to 420 numbers of Video Cassettes falling under entry at Sl. No. 689 (26) in Appendix III of Licens....
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....isite number of video cassette tapes after disassembly individual video cassette tapes into two constituents, one the Video magnetic tape as for an individual cassette and the other as the video cassette without tape i.e., the empty case, the requisite number of screws for bringing the two constituents together being also supplied. The assembly of video cassette tape takes place merely putting the magnetic tape and plastic case together and fixing the screws supplied by the foreign supplier. 8. The law on the point as to what constitutes manufacture is well settled. In the case of Union Carbide Co. Ltd. v Union of India - 1978 (2) E.L.T. 1180 the Calcutta High Court that "Manufacture implies a change but every change in the raw mate....
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....brought into existence when cycle parts are assembled by the buyer, who imports cycles in CKD condition. At this juncture, the Learned JCDR sought to distinguish the facts of the case (supra) from those of the present appeals. She contended that the High Court considered trade practice in cycles which is the reverse of that in Video Cassette Tapes, as the practice in trade relating to cycles was to import them in CKD condition which practice was not established in the present case. We do not see how this would make any difference, as the test of manufacture has not been satisfied in this case.We fail to see how assembly of magnetic tape and plastic covers amounts to manufacture. The arguments advanced by the Learned JCDR do not clinch the i....