2012 (6) TMI 731

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.... 2002 and also imposed penalty of equal amount. 2. The appellant M/s. HPCL is a public sector undertaking engaged in business of refining crude oil and marketing petrol products thereof. They have storage facility at Mathura where they receive duty paid petrol products (motor spirit and diesel) from various oil refineries. The appellants sell most of petrol and diesel through their retail outlets. However, some quantity of petrol and diesel are mixed with Multifunctional Additives in small quantity and sell under branded fuel namely power petrol and turbo jet diesel. Those products are sold at a price higher then ordinary petrol or high speed diesel (HSD) and it is claimed that above two brands enhance the efficiency of motor vehicle in ....

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....ordinary motor spirit (petrol) and HSD with small quantity i.e. 4% to 6% of MFA does not result in emerging of a new product with distinct name, character and use. Branded petrol and HSD basically remain petrol and HSD only. Adding of Multifunction additive in petrol and HSD only improve the engine performance but does not change basic character of the product. Hence, mixing of petrol and HSD with MFA cannot be termed as manufacture. It is further submitted that as per Board's Circular No. 83/83/94-CX dated 13.12.1994 blending of motor spirit with ethylone and methylone does not amount to manufacture and by that analogy blending of petrol and HSD with Multifunctional additive would not amount to manufacture. 6. We have considered the riv....

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.... judgment in case of CCE vs. Sudarshan Chemical Industries (supra) and this Tribunal in its judgments in cases of Lakme Lever Ltd. v. CCE (supra) and CCE v. Mysore Ammonia Pvt. Ltd. (supra) has held that a process or treatment to enhance the marketability of a product of improve the value addition does not amount to manufacture. In this case, the blending only improves the quality of the MS/HSD resulting in better value addition, without charging the basis characteristics and usages of the products.    4.2 The ratio of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's Judgment in case of J.G. Glass v.UOI (supra) in which it was held that printing of glass bottles does not amount to manufacture is squarely applicable to the facts of this case. &nb....