TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (5) TMI 460
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....ums / containers. Slack wax is a waste originating from Oil Refineries manufacturing lubricating oil. Slack wax comprises waste oil and wax. Wax comprises of about 50%-65% and balance waste oil, according to the quality of slack wax. 2.1. Oil is lighter to wax so it comes above the waste wax. Oil and wax are separated from the drums by tilting the drums. About 90% of the waste oil is separated by merely tilting as oil, being lighter than wax, comes to the surface. About 10% of the oil was separated by squeezing, for which the respondent used a hydraulic press. The respondent was of the view that separation of wax and oil by emptying the drum did not amount to manufacture. Accordingly, they did not pay any Central Excise duty on the foot oil or Pressed wax. 2.2. The Department was of the view that the respondent has undertaken processing on the imported slack wax and residue wax and manufactured foot oil, pressed wax, paraffin wax, etc. As the respondent has undertaken the processing without obtaining Central Excise Registration and without following the Central Excise law and procedures, and cleared the goods without payment of Central Excise Duty, a Show Cause Notice dated 2....
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....nt and machinery for any manufacturing activity was installed in the factory. They have not manufactured foot oil, pressed wax or paraffin wax separately; they have imported slack wax and residue wax; foot oil, pressed wax and paraffin wax are parts of the goods imported. They have imported paraffin wax separately and traded it. Residue slack wax and residue wax both have oil content varying from 30 to 70%. The respondent only separated those by tilting the drums where 90% of the oil was emptied and separated. About 10% of the oil was separated by squeezing for which a pressing machine was used. Separation or emptying the drum did not amount to manufacture as defined in Section 2(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. 7.1. The ld. adjudicating authority has held that tilting, separating and pressing with hydraulic press as a process amounting to 'manufacture'. In this regard, the respondent contends that Foot oil, pressed paraffin wax and pressed wax are sold in the market separately, but these products are parts of the 'slack wax' and 'residue wax', which were only separated; so the process of separation cannot be considered as an activity of manufacture within the meaning....
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....ported by the appellant, amounts to manufacture or not as defined under Section 2(f) of Central Excise Act, 1944. For the sake of convenience, I prefer to reproduce below the relevant provisions of Section : Section 2. Definitions.. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, *** *** *** (f) "manufacture includes any process, - i) incidental or ancillary to the completion of a manufactured product; ii) which is specified in relation to any goods in the Section or Chapter notes of the Fourth Schedule as amounting to manufacture, or which, in relation to the goods specified in the Third Schedule, involves packing or repacking of such goods in a unit container or labelling or re-labelling of containers including the declaration or alteration of retail sale price on it or adoption of any other treatment on the goods to render the product marketable to the consumer, iii) and the word "manufacturer" shall be construed accordingly and shall include not only a person who employs hired labour in the production or manufacture of excisable goods, but also any person who engages in their prod....
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.... paraffin wax from the slack wax and residue wax imported by them. Thus, we agree with the above findings of the Ld. Commissioner (Appeals) in the impugned order and hold that no process amounting to 'manufacture' as defined under Section 2(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 has been undertaken by the respondent 10. In support of their submission that no manufacturing activity has been undertaken in this case, the respondent has relied upon the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Shyam Oil Cake Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise, Jaipur reported in 2004 (174) E.L.T. 145 (S.C.), wherein it has been held as under:- "17. The question whether any manufacture takes place when edible vegetable oil is processed and refined was considered by a Constitution Bench of this Court in M/s. Tungabhadra Industries Ltd. v. The Commercial Tax Officer, Kurnool, reported in [1961 (2) SCR 14]. This Court inter alia considered whether the refined oil could be said to be in the same form in which it was when extracted and held as follows : "When raw groundnut oil is converted into refined oil, there is no doubt processing, but this consists merely in removing fr....
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....e excisable merely because there were two separate Entries. 21. In the case of Metlex (I) Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of C. Ex., New Delhi, reported in [2004 (165) E.L.T. 129 (S.C.)], it was again held that the burden of proving of manufacture laid on the Revenue. It was held that laminated/metalised film remained a film and no new or distinct product has come into existence. 22. In the case of Aman Marble Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. Collector of C. Ex., Jaipur reported in [2003 (157) E.L.T. 393 (S.C.)], the question was whether cutting of marble blocks into marble slabs amounted to manufacture. It was submitted that such an activity had been specifically brought into the Tariff Item by indicating the process. It was submitted that once the process had been indicated in the Tariff Item, it would amount to manufacture. These arguments were negatived. It was held that to start with the commodity was a marble and even after cutting it remained marble. It was held that there was no manufacture. 23. It was submitted that the decision in Aman Marble Industries case is not laying down the correct law inasmuch as it has not taken note of the amended definition of the t....