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2014 (12) TMI 865

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....ht in denying the benefit available to the appellant under para 7 of the Notification No.175/1986 CE, dated 1.3.1986? (ii)Whether the Tribunal was right in entertaining and passing orders on the Order-in-Original No.72/1994, dated 9.12.1994, when the first respondent confirmed the finding of the second respondent? (ii)Whether the Tribunal was right in holding that the appellant manufactured and cleared branded goods? 2. The controversy in this case could have been avoided if only the Tribunal has been little more clear in deciding the issue. Nevertheless, we are inclined to clarify the factual position a little more to resolve the controversy. 3.1. The facts in a nutshell are as under: The appellant is a manufacturer of (i) Silencers fo....

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....epartment and the legal contentions, and on comparing Hub Caps supplied by M/s.Premier Automobiles Ltd. to its dealers with the samples seized from the appellant, found that the symbol/brand name PAL embossed on the parts manufactured by M/s.Premier Automobiles Ltd are identical to the symbol/brand name affixed on the goods manufactured by the appellant and accordingly, denied exemption under Notification No.175/86, dated 1.3.1986 3.4.2. Similarly, the Hub Caps manufactured by the assessee affixed with the symbol/brand name SUZUKI were also compared by the Adjudicating Authority with the goods manufactured by M/s.Maruti Udyod (P) Ltd. and were found to be identical and, therefore, the invoking Explanation VIII to Paragraph (7) of the Notif....

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.... the order of the Collector of Central Excise. 3.6. The department, on its turn, filed an appeal against that portion of the order of the Collector of Central Excise granting the benefit of exemption notification in respect of the goods bearing the symbol/brand name COX at the top and MARUTI at the bottom. The appellant herein was respondent in that appeal. Despite service of notice, the appellant herein did not choose to appear. Left with no other option, the Tribunal decided the issue on merits and allowed the appeal filed by the department in Appeal No.E/307/96, by order dated 23.7.1997. The relevant portion of the said order reads as under: 5. .... In our view the goods show a connection. In the course of trade between the goods in qu....

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....i) CCE v. Rukmani Pakkwell Traders, 2004 (165) ELT 481 (SC); (ii) CCE v. Mahaan Dairies, 2004 (161) ELT 23 (SC); and (iii) CCE v. Grasim Industries Ltd., 2005 (185) ELT 123 (SC), passed the following order: "4. The brand name in question, used by the respondents on their goods supplied to M/s.Maruti Udyog Ltd. during the period of dispute is as shown under: The logo with the word 'MARUTI' shown thereunder would create in anybody's mind a connection between the goods and M/s.Maruti Udyog Ltd. The mere fact that the word 'MARUTI' in Devanagiri was not shown on the label of the subject goods is not enough to dislodge this connection. Hence, as per the Supreme Court's ruling, the subject clearances should be held to be....

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....s cleared under the brand name MARUTI and the appeal of the department is in relation to the appellant's symbol/brand name containing the word COX at the top and the word MARUTI at the bottom and, therefore, the two issues cannot be clubbed together. 6. We have considered the submissions made on either side and perused the orders passed by the Tribunal and the authorities below. 7. As all the questions of law are intertwined, they are dealt with together. 8. The plea of the appellant does not merit consideration for the simple reason that the original order is composed of three components. The first two components are in relation to the use of the brand names PAL and SUZUKI , against which an appeal was filed by the appellant and tha....

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....ignature or invented word or writing which is used in relation to such specified goods for the purpose of indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between such specified goods and some person using such name or mark with or without any indication of the identify of that person. 10. In the case on hand, the symbol/brand name, extracted above, shows that the word MARUTI has been used along with the word COX . From a reading of the above explanation, what is required to be established is that by usage of such symbol/brand name, there should be a connection with the brand name of some other person. In the case on hand, the usage of the symbol/brand name of MARUTI is apparent. Mere absence of the letters MARUTI in Dev....