2001 (5) TMI 81

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....ous Ammonia and Ammonia in aqueous solution known as liquid Ammonia. They receive Ammonia in compressed form in tankers from the manufacturer of Ammonia on payment of Central Excise duty under Chapter sub-heading 2814.90 of the Central Excise Tariff. The said Ammonia is off-loaded from the tankers into cylinders of lesser capacity. The cylinders filled with the Ammonia are sold to various purchasers for meeting their requirements. The cylinders in which the Ammonia is sold are returnable by the customers for refilling. On the allegation that they were purchasing Ammonia in bulk and repacking the same in retail/marketable packs for sale to consumers which amounted to manufacture, Show Cause Notice dated 14-8-1997 was issued demanding duty of....

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....Those cylinders were having ISI marking to prove their worthiness. It was in such cylinders the Ammonia gas was being filled and so no manufacturing process took place. The Appellate Commissioner while disposing of the appeal by Order-in-Appeal No. 626/CE/DLH/2000, dated 20-6-2000 confirmed the order passed by the adjudicating authority without dealing with any of the contentions raised by the appellants. Hence this appeal. 5. Note 10 to Chapter 28 reads :- "In relation to products of this Chapter, labelling or re-labelling of containers and repacking from bulk packs to retail packs, or the adoption of any other treatment to render the product marketable to the consumer, shall amount to manufacture." From the above Chapter Note one....

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....getting Ammonia in bulk packs. They were getting it in tankers. Ammonia gas brought in tankers can never be termed as brought in bulk packs. So the assessee was not repacking the goods from bulk packs to retail packs. Accordingly the activity undertaken by the assessee in filling the smaller container from bulk container namely tankers can never fall within the fiction of manufacture as envisaged by Note 10 quoted above. 7. The department went into the question as to what type of packing can fall within the purview of the Note. Reference may be made to Circular No. 342/58/97-CX., dated 8-10-1997. Paragraph 3 of this circular gives Government of India's understanding of the word packing. It reads as: - 'Generally the expression "packin....