1991 (12) TMI 70

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.... agreement provided that the petitioners, on manufacture of the bottles, shall print a logo of the customer on the bottles. The petitioners were required by Messrs. Poona Beverages Limited to supply 200 ml. Campa bottles to enable the beverage company to sell beverages in the said bottles. The petitioners filed price list No. 37 dated April 4,1978 for supply of Campa bottles inclusive of the printing charges. The price list sets out that the manufacturing cost would be Rs. 700/- and printing charges Rs. 200/- and consequently the total charges Rs. 900/- per 1000 bottles. The petitioners also informed the Superintendent of Central Excise that the printing charges should not be included in the assessable value while determining the duty payab....

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....ottles has to be inclusive of the cost of printing. The order of the Collector is under challenge. 4. Mr. Hidaytullah, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners, submitted that the Collector misdirected himself while exercising powers of review under Section 35A(2) and the conclusion that the cost of the printing shall be included while determining the assessable value of the glass bottles under Tariff Item No. 23A(4) is erroneous. The learned counsel urged that the Collector declined to address to the issue which requires to be determined for ascertaining the assessable value. The petitioners had claimed before the Collector that the process of manufacture of glass bottles is complete and the taxable event occurs before the w....

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....glass bottles was completed. Mr. Desai, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Department, could not dispute that by process of printing logo on these bottles the identity of the bottles is not changed. Mr. Desai submitted that value of the bottle stands increased by process of printing. But it is not possible to accede to the submission on the facts and circumstances of the case. The process of printing logo is undertakes for the purpose of identification and we are unable to appreciate how by any stretch of imagination it will increase the value of the bottle. Indeed, every manufacturer undertakes the process of either printing logo or the name of the customer when an order is booked for a large number of articles to be manufactured. ....

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.... impugned order. The marketability of the article does not depend upon the printing of the logo of the customer. As mentioned hereinabove, the bottles could easily be sold in market and the logo is printed only for the purpose of identity of the customer. Mr. Desai also referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in Empire Industries Ltd. and Others v. Union of India and Others - 1985 (20) E.L.T. 179. The decision of the Supreme Court has no relevance to the facts of the present case because in the case before the Supreme Court the identity of the article was entirely changed and a new article had come into existence after the process of bleaching, dyeing and printing was undertaken. The process of bleaching, dyeing and printing was carri....