Holding

Printing on glass bottles is not a "manufacture" under Section 2(f) when done in a separate unit, but when the printing is performed in the same factory as bottle manufacture the printed bottle is the excisable article and duty is payable on its total value.

Summary

The dispute concerned whether the process of printing and decorating glass bottles constitutes "manufacture" under Section 2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, and consequently whether excise duty is payable on the printed bottles. J.G. Glass Industries Ltd manufactured plain glass bottles (Tariff Item 23‑A) and later printed them in a separate, demarcated unit without a licence. The Revenue directed that duty be levied on the enhanced value of the printed bottles, which the assessee challenged. The Court formulated a two‑fold test: (1) does the process create a different commercial commodity or extinguish the identity of the original commodity; and (2) would the original commodity have any commercial use without the process. Applying this, the Court held that plain bottles remain bottles after printing and retain commercial use, so printing in a separate unit is not "manufacture" and duty cannot be levied twice. However, when printing is carried out in the same factory as bottle manufacture, the printed bottle becomes the excisable article and duty is chargeable on its total value including printing charges. The Tribunal’s and Collector’s orders were set aside for the separate‑premises case, the Special Leave Petition was dismissed, and the Collector’s order was restored for the same‑premises case.

Issues considered

Whether printing and decorating glass bottles amounts to "manufacture" within the meaning of Section 2(f) of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.
Whether the location of the printing process (separate premises vs. same factory) affects the liability to excise duty.
Whether the Revenue can levy excise duty twice on the same item under the same tariff heading.

Legislation cited

Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944s. 2(f), s. 3, s. 4

Subjects

manufacturecentral exciseprintingglass bottlesSection 2(f)double taxationseparate premisesassessment valueexcise duty

Judgment

. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. A
v.
J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD.

DECEMBER 9, 1997

(S.C. SEN AND M. SRINIVASAN, JJ.) B

Excise Law:

Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944: Sections 2(f), 3 & 4 and Item 23-A.

Excise dztty-Manufacture-Pmticular proces:r-Amounting to-Deter-
c
mination of-Two-fold test-P1inting on glass bottle:r-Excise duty-Levy
011:-Held : Firstly whether by that pmticular process a different commercial
commodity comes into existence or whether identity of the 01iginal commodity
ceases lo exist-Secondly, whether the original commodity would serve no
pwpose but for that proces:r-Hence, plain glass bottles being themselves D
commercial commodities, printing mz such bottles does not amount to
manufacture within the meaning of S.2(f)-Therefore, not liable to excise duty
if such printing is carried out i!l a different premises other than that in which
plain bottles are manufactured--Howeve1; if such p1inting is canied out in the
same factmy whether the plain bottles are manufactured, the value of the E
p1inted bottles including p1inting charges would be the assessable value of the
excisable goods and duty is chargeable thereon.

Words and Phrases :

"Mamtfacture"-Meaning of-In the context of S.2(f) of the Central F
Excises and Salt Act, 1944.

The appellant-assessee was a manufacturer of glass and glassware
falling under Tariff Item 23-A of the Central Excise Tarift'. Subsequently,
the appellant commenced the process of printing of glass bottles with G
ceramic colour in a separate demarcated unit. The Range Superintendent
of Central Excise directed the appellant not to remove any printed bottles
without payment of Central Excise duty on the enhanced value after
including the expenditure incurred on printing/decorating. The Tribunal
dismissed the appeal preferred by the appellants against the aforesaid
order. Hence this appeal. H
345
346 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (19971SUPP.6 S.C.R.

·A On behalf of the appellant-assessee it was contended that printing
and decorating bottles woulcl not by any stretch of imagination amount to
manufacture unless the process brings into existence a different commer-
cial product; and that the 11tain bottles did not cease to be bottles by some
logos or names being printed thereon.

B Allowing the appeal, this Court

HELD : I. There is a two-fold test which emerges for deciding
whether the process is that of "manufacture". First, whether by the said
process a different commercial commodity comes into existence or whether
C the identity of the original commodity ceases to exist; secondly, whether
the commodity which was already in existence will serve no purpose but
for the said process. In other worcls, whether the commodity already in
existence will be of no commercial use but for the said purpose. In the
present case, the plain bottles are themselves commercial commodities and
can be sold and used as such. By the process of printing name or logos on
D the bottles, the basic character of commodity does not change. They
continue to be bottles. It cannot be said that but for the process of printing,
the bottles will serve no purpose or are of no commercial use. Therefore,
printing on bottles will not amount to "manufacture" within the meaning
of Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.(355-D-F; 356-D-E; 357-C-D]
E
Union of India v. Delhi Cloth & General Mills, [1963) Supp. 1 SCR
586; Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Pio Food Packen, [1980) Supp.
SCC 174; Rollatainers Ltd. v. Union of India, (1994) 72 ELT 793 SC; CCE
v. Paper & Products Co., (1996) 88 ELT 317 SC; Metagraphs Pvt. Ltd. v.
CCE, [1997) 1 SCC 262; CCE v. Indian Coated Cmtons (P) Ltd., (1997) 92
F ELT 459 SC and CCE v. Usha Mmtin Indust1ies, (1997) 94 ELT 460 SC,
referred to.

Empire Indust1ies Ltd. v. Union of India, [1985) 3 SCC 314, held
inapplicable.

G 2. Admittedly, the bottles whether printed or not fall under Item 23-A
(4) of the Central Excise Tariff. If the contention of the Revenue that
printing of bottles would make them a different commodity, viz., printed
bottles, is accepted it would lead to doubt taxation under the same tariff
item. While at the gate of the main factory duty is leviable on the plain
H bottles, under Item 23-A(4), once again duty will be leviable on the printed
U.O.L v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTIUES LTD. [SRINIVASAN,J.] 347

bottles after the process of printing is over in the premises where such A
printing is carried out. Such duty will undoubtedly be on the value of the
printed bottles, which will include not only the cost of manufacture of the
bottles, but also the cost of printing charges. The Revenue cannot be
permitted to levy duty twice on the same item when there is no warrant
therefor in the relevant provisions of the Act. [357-E-G]
B
3. However, where the printing on the bottles is also carried out in
the same factory where the bottles are manufactured and the ultimate
product which happens to be the excisable item ·at the gate of the factory
is the printed bottle as such, the value of printed bottles including printing
charges is the assessable value of the excisable goods and duty is charge- C
able thereon. [358-B-C]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 2882 of
1993 Etc.

From the .Judgment and Order dated 17.12.91 of the Bombay High D
Court in W.P. No. 2703 of 1983 Etc.

N.K. Bajpai, K.C. Kaushik, V.K. Verma, P. Parmeswaran and Ms.
Sushma Suri for the Appellants.

Soli J. Sorabjee, Joseph Vellapally, Ms. Nisha Bagachi, Ms. lndu E
Malhotra and Trideep Pais for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

SRINIVASAN, J. The common question which arises for decision in
these two appeals and Special Leave Petition is whether printing on glass F
bottles amounts to manufacture within the meaning of Section 2(f) of the
Central Excise Act 1944.

2. It is convenient to set out the facts in each case separately before
considering the aforesaid question.
G
3. The appellants in Civil Appeal No. 767 of 1991 have a factory for
manufacturing glass and glasswares falling under T.I. 23 of the Central
Excise Tariff. Till 1983 they were manufacturing and supplying plain glass
bottles to customers. In 1983 they filed an application before the Assistant
Collector, Central Excise, Saharanpur enclosing a revised layout of the H
348 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1997] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A factory in substitution of the existing plan. Under the revised plan, the
premises in which the manufacturing operation of glass and glassware was
undertaken was segregated from the premises in which the machinery for
printing of glass bottles with ceramic colour was to be installed for carrying
on the printing operation. The Superintendent, (Central Excise) approved
of the revised plan. The appellants commenced the r.rocess of printing of
B
bottles in the separate demarcated Unit for which no Excise license was
taken. The said demarcated unit is situated within a shed enclosed by walls
separate from the main factory which is licenced for manufacturing glass
and glassware. The Range Superintendent of Central Excise issued a
directive vide letter dated 29.6.1983 that the appellants shall not remove
C any printed bottles without payment of Central Excise duty on the en-
hanced value after including the expenditure incurred on printing/decorat-
ing. That was challenged by appellants on appeal before the Collector
(Appeals) who set aside the directive and directed the Assistant Collector
to pass a speaking order after complying with the principles of natural
D justice. After a show cause notice and a reply thereto, the Assistant
Collector passed an order on 23.9.1983 that assessable value of glass bottles
should include the cost of decorating the same with ceramic colours. On
appeal the Collector confirmed the same by his order dated 3.3.1984. The
Tribunal dismissed the appeal preferred by the appellants by its order
dated 26.10.1990. It is that order which is under challenge in this appeal. .
E
. 4. Though the Tribunal observed that the Superintendent of Central
Excise was not competent to approve the revised ground plan, proceeded
to discuss the question formulated above on the footing that the Unit
wherein the decoration of glass bottles is being carried out is separate from
F the factory manufacturing the said bottles. The following passage in the
order of the Tribunal is relevant in this regard :

"Admittedly, the ACL Unit is located in the enclosed space with
an opening on the main road apart from the gate of the fac~ory
licensed for the manufacture of glassware. The shed in which the
G ACL Unit is located, was also excluded from the lay out of the
factory. From the above, it follows that the ACL Unit, which was
carved out of the old premises is a space covered by walls and is
adjunct to the principal premises i.e. the license~ premises."

H Again the Tribunal has observed in Para 20 of its order that "admittedly
U.O.L v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD. [SRINIVASAN, J.] 349

the plain bottles are manufactured in the main premises and the printing A
and decoration is done in the premises adjunct to it".

5. It is on the above factual premise the question stated above which
was formulated by the Tribunal itself has to be considered. The Tribunal
has proceeded to hold that printing and decoration would amount to
manufacture within the meaning of Section 2 (I) of the Act. B

6. In Civil Appeal No. 2882 of 1993 the appellant is the Union of
India. The respondent in that appeal is none other than the appellant in
Civil Appeal No. 767 of 1991. Thal appeal arises out of a claim for refund
made by the respondents therein on the ground that they had paid excise C
duty on the charges incurred for printing of glass bottles which did not
form part of manufacturing process and therefore they were entitled to get
refund of the said duty. They had paid the duty on the price of the bottles
as supplied to the customers as per the approved Price List No. 37 which
included the printing charges. The claim for refund was accepted by the
Assistant Collector of Central Excise but rejected by the Collecto;. The D
assessee filed a writ petition in the High Court of Bombay to quash the
order of the Collector. A Division Bench of the High Court upheld the
contention of the assessee and held that printing on the glass bottles cannot
be included in the assessable value for the purpose of levy of excise duty.
Aggrieved by the order of the Division Bench, the Union of India has E
preferred this appeal.

7. In so far as the factual position in this appeal is concerned, there
is no dispute that the entire process including the printing on the bottles
is carried out in one factory and the excisable goods supplied to the
customers by the respondents are the printed bottles at the price set out F
in the approved price list inclusive of the printing charges.

8. In Special Leave Petition No. 8316 of 1994 the first respondent is
a company which undertakes the process of decorating glass bottles at its
factory at Chinchwad, Poona. The company purchases plain bottles, from
the manufacturers thereof including appellants in Civil Appeal No. 767 of G
1991 and carries out the decoration and printing on such bottles as per the
contracts entered into with its customers. The company had not taken any
licence for carrying out that process within its premises on the ground that
it was not a manufacturing process. The Superintendent of Central Excise
detained the bottles and issued a show cause notice as to why excise duty H
350 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997) SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A should not be demanded, penalty should not be imposed and goods should
not be seized. The respondents filed a writ petition in the High Court of
Bombay challenging the said proceedings. The Division Bench of the High
Court followed the judgment rendered in the earlier case of J. G. Glass
I11dust1ies Ltd. and allowed the writ petition. Aggrieved thereby the Union
of India has preferred the Petition for Special Leave. In so far as this case
B is concerned, there is no dispute regarding the fact that the respondents
are only carrying on the process of decoration and printing and have
nothing to do with the manufacture of bottles as such.

9. The contention of the assessee is that printing and decorating
C bottles will not by any stretch of imagination amount to manufacture. ft is
argued that unless the process brings into existence a different commercial
product, it cannot be said to be manufacturing process. In short, the
contention is that the plain bottles do not cease to be bottles by some logos
or names being printed thereon. Reliance is placed on a judgment of this
D Court in U11io11 of l11dia v. Delhi Cloth & Ge11eral Mills, (1963) Supp. 1
S.C.R. 586. Our attention is drawn to the following passage :

"On a consideration of all these materials we have no doubt about
the correctness of the respondents' case that the raw oil purchased
by the respondents for the purpose of manufacture of Vanaspati
E does not become at any stage "refined oil" as is known to the
consumers and the commercial community. The first branch of Mr.
Pathak's argument must therefore be rejected.

The other branch of Mr. Pathak's argument is that even if it be
F held that the respondents do not manufacture "refined oil" as is
known to the market they must be held to manufacture some kind
of "non essential vegetable oil" by applying to the raw material
purchased by them, the processes of neutralisation by alkali and
bleaching by activated earth and/or carbon. According to the
learned counsel "manufacture" is complete as soon as by the
G application of one or more processes, the raw material undergoes
some change. To say this is to equate "processing" to "manufacture"
and for this we can find no warrant in law. The word " manufacture"
used as a verb is generally understood to mean as "bringing into
existence a new substance" and does not mean merely "to produce
H some change in a substance", however minor in consequence the
U.O.I. v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD. [SRINIVASAN,J.] 351

change may be. This distinction is well brought about in a passage A
thus quoted in Vol. 26, from American judgment. The passage runs
thus:

'Manufacture' implies a change, but every change is not .
manufacture and yet every change of an article is the result of
treatment, labour and manipulation. But something more is neces- B
sary and there must be transformation; a new and different article
must emerge having a distinctive name, character or use."

10. In Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Law)

Board of Revenue (Taxes) Emakulam v. Mis. Pio Food Packen·,
c
[1980] Supp. Supreme Court Cases 174"this Court observed :

"...... .. There are several criteria for determining whether a
commodity is consumed in the manufacture of another. The
generally prevalent test is whether the article produced is regarded D
in the trade, by those who deal in il, as distinct in identity from
the commodity involved in its manufacture. Commonly manufac-
ture is the end result of one more process through which the
original commodity is made to pass. The nature and extent of
process may vary from one case to another, and indeed there may E
be several stages of processing and perhaps a different kind of
processing at each stage. With each process suffere~, the original
commodity experiences a change. But it is only when the change,
or a series of changes, lake the commodity to the point where
commercially it can no longer be regarded as the original com-
modity but instead is recognized as a new and distinct article that F
a manufacture can be said to take place. Where there is no
essential difference in identity between the original commodity and
the processed article it is not possible to say that one commodity
has been consumed in the manufacture of another. Although it has
undergone a degree of processing, it must be regarded as still G
retaining its original identity."

11. In Rollatainers Ltd. v. Union of India, (1994] 72 E.L.T. 793 S.C.
the question arose with reference to the applicability of exemption
pertaining to products of the printing industry. The Notification
specified the goods as "all products of printing industry including H
352 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1997] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A newspapers and printed periodicals". The contention of the appel-
lant was that printed cartons are a product of printing industry
and as such exempt from duty under the Notification. Rejecting
that contention the Court said :

"According to the appellant-company printed cartons are
B known and understood in the trade as products of the Printing
Industry. The dominant activity in the manufacture of a printed
carton is the printing activity and the cutting, creasing and gluing,
if any, are only supplementary. It was further contended that the
printed cartons have become a medium of advertising the product.
c It enhances the sale value of the goods. The art is chosen so that
the brand name and the trade mark of the manufacturer are
highlighted. The appearance and the visual impact of the printing
. on the carton are of utmost importance and occupy the major time
and expense in the manufacture of the carton. It was, therefore,
finally contended that the printed cartons are known and under-
D stood in the trade as the product of the printing industry. Since
· that is how the printed cartons are understood in the common
parlance, the appellant-company is entitled to the benefit of the
Exemption Notification.

E ........ The literature referred to by the appellant only shows that
the printing industry has advanced to such an extent that one can
print an almost, anything such as glass, metal or synthetic base.
Earlier the printing activity was primarily confineq to printing of
books, literature, newspaper and periodicals etc. The advanced
F printing industry covers a much wider field of activity than it did
in the past. Can we, therefore, say that every material on which
printing work is done becomes a product of the Printing Industry?
The answer has to be in the negative. An ordinary carton without
any printing on it is a completed product and undisputedly the
product of Packaging Industry.
G
The question for our consideration is, does it cease to be .the
product of Packaging Industry as and when some printing is done
on the said carton? We are of the view that to a common man in
the trade and in common parlance a carton remains a carton
H whether it is a plain carton or a printed carton. The extreme
U.O.I. v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD. [SR.INIVASAN,J.] 353

contention that all products, on which some printing is done, are A
the products of the Printing Industry cannot be accepted. The
Division Bench of the High Court has rightly rejected the conten- ·
lion on the following reasoning :

"In our view, it would be an extreme proposition to B
hold that all products on which some printing is done is a
product of the printing industry. In. that event, printed cloth
would be a product of the printing industry and. not of the
textile industry. A metal can with printed material on it will
similarly be a product of the printing industry and not of the
packaging industry. The same can be said of card-board C
packet and even wooden boxes over which some printing is
done to identify the goods or its manufacturer. In our view,
the mere fact that something is printed on a product by itself
does not make it a product of the printing industry. A carton
is a carton and has only one use, namely of; packing a D ·
product to be sold in the market. The mere fact that some-
thing is printed on it does not. change its essential nature or
use. the leanied Judge has observed that the end use of a
product is immaterial. In the case of a carton the questiOn
does not arise, because it has only one use and therefore, any
distinction between its intermediate use and end use is un- E
warranted. In our view,· the printed cartons are designed at
times to make the product· attractive for the purchaser, and
at times to identify the goods and highlight its qualities, and

.. at times to identify the manufacturer of the goods. All the
. same, the carton remains a carton and is used for the purpose F
of packaging" .

• ....... What is exempt under the Notification is the product of
the "Printing Industry". The "Product" in this case is the carton.
The Printing Industry by itself cannot bring the carton into exist- G
ence. Any amount of fancy printing on a card board would not
make it a carton. In the process· of manufacturing .the printed
cartons, the card board has to be cut, printed, creased and given
the shape of a carton by using paste or gum. Simply because there
are expensive prints on the carton such a printed carton would not
become the product of the. Printing Industry. It shall remain the H
354 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A product of the Packaging Industry.

12. The above ruling was followed in Collector of Central Excise,
Bombay v. Paper & Products Co., (1996) 88 E.L.T. 317 S.C. in which it was
held that unwaxed printed paper cut into sheets and reels according to the
B needs of the customer for the purpose of being used as wrappers in
packaging cannot be said to be a product of printing industry so as to
attract the exemption Notification.

13. In Metagraphs Pvt. Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise, Bombay,
(1997] 1 sec 262 the appellant manufactured printed aluminium labels.
C The labels were printed on flatbed offset printing press and the printing
was done on a deep offset printing plate. The labels were meant to be fixed
to refrigerators, radios, air conditioners telephones etc. The Tribunal held
that the printed aluminium labels were not products of printing industry
and rejected the claim for exemption. The Division Bench of this Court
D . reversed the decision of the Tribunal and followed the reasoning in Rol-
latainers Ltd.'s case (supra). After referring to the above case, the Bench
said ". ... There this Court approved the test based on understanding of
·"
trade parlance/common parlance of a particular product. In the case on
hand but for the printing, the aluminium label would serve no purpose and
as seen above, it is the printing on the aluminium sheet, which communi-
E cates the message to the buyer that makes th\: sheet as a label, unlike a
carton printed or plain which always remains a carton. The label announces
to the customer that the product is or is not of his choice and his purchase
of the commodity would be decided Jiy the printed matter on the label.
The printing of the label is not incidental to its use but primarily in the
F sense that it communicates to the customer about the product and this ..
serves a definite purpose. This Court in Rollatainers case held that "what
is exempt under the notification is the product" of the printing industry.
The 'product' in this case is the carton. The printing industry by itself
cannot bring the carton into existence", Let us apply this above formula to
the facts of this case. The product in this case is the aluminium printed
G label. The printing industry has brought the label into existence. That being
the position and further the test of trade having understood this label as
the product of printing industry, there is no difficulty in holding that the
label in question are the products of printing industry. It is true that all
products on which some printing is done, are not the products of printing
H industry. It depends upon the nature of products and other circumstances.
U.0.1. v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD. [SRINIVASAN,J.] 355

Therefore the issue has to be decided with reference to facts of each case. A
A general test is neither advisable nor practicable. We are, therefore, of
the opinion that the Tribunal was not right in concluding that the printed
• Aluminium labels in question are not "products of printing industry".

14. With respect, we agree with the test formulated by the Division B
Bench. The question is, whether the product would serve any purpose but
for the printing. If the produd could serve a purpose even without printing
and there' is no change in the corrimercial product after the printing is
carried out, the process cannot be said to be one of "manufacture".

15. In Collector of Customs, Bangalore v. Indian Coated Cwtom (P) c
Ltd., (1997) 92 E.L.T. 459 S.C. a Division Bench of this Court to which one
of us (S.C. Sen) was a party reiterated the principle laid down inRollatiners
Ltd. 's case (supra). That case also related to printed cartons manufactured
by the respondents therein. The Bench distinguished the ruling in
Metagraphs Pvt. Ltd. 's case.
D
16. On an analysis of the aforesaid rulings, a two-fold test emerges
for deciding whether the process is that of "manufacture". First, whether
by the said process a different commercial commodity comes into existence
or whether the identity of the original commodity ceases to exist; secondly,
whether, the commodity which was already in existence will serve no E
purpose but for the said process. In other words, whether the commodity
already in existence will be of no commercial use but for the said process.
In the present case, the plain bottles are themselves commercial com-
modities and can be sold and used as such. By the process of printing
names or logos on the bottles, the basic character of the commodity does F
not change. They continue to be bottles. It cannot be said that but for the
process of printing, the bottles will serve no purpose or are of no commer-
cial use.

17. Learned counsel for the Revenue has strenously contended that
the printing on the bottles will make them a different commodity known as G
printed bottles. According to him such printed bottles cannot be of any
·, general commercial use but they will be useful only for the persons on
whose' behalf and for whose benefit such printing has been done.
Therefore, according to him the process of printing on bottles is a
"manufacturing" process. Reliance is placed by him on the judgment of this H
356 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1997) SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A Court in Empire Industries Ltd. & Ors. v. U11io11 of India & Ors., [1985) 3
S.C.C. 314. The que.stion which arose for consideration in that case was
whether introduction of sub-clauses (v) (vi) and (vii) in Section 2(f) of
Central Excise Act by Act 6 of 1980 was valid. While upholding the validity
of the amendment of the Section by which the definition of "manufacture"
B was widened so as to include the process of bleaching, dyeing, printing,
finishing etc. with reference to cotton fabrics and man-made fabrics, the
Court considered what constituted "manufacture". In that connection the
Court observed :

"The taxable event under the Excise Law is 'manufacture'. The
c moment there is transformation into a new commodity commer-
cially known as a distinct and separate commodity having its own
character, use and name, whether be it the result of one process
or several processes 'manufacture' takes place and liability to duty
is attracted".
D
The Court referred to various earlier decisions dealing with the expression
"manufacture". We are unable to appreciate as to how the ruling helps the
Revenue in the present case. We have already pointed out that the printing
on the bottles does not bring into existence a new commercial commodity
which is distinct and separate in its character, use and name from the
E original commodity. Hence, we are unable to accept the contention of the
Revenue in this case that printing on bottles involves a process of
'manufacture'.

18. Learned counsel for the assessee ha~ also placed before us a copy
F of Trade Notice No. 28/1980 issued by Pune Central Excise and Customs
Collectorate with reference to Tariff Item No. 23A(4). It reads thus :

"Attention of the Trade is invited to the Item No. 23-A of the
Central Excise Tariff.

G 2. It is clarified for the information of the Trade that Glassware
decorated in a different factory after the receipt of duty paid plain
glassware would not be again liable to duty/differential duty under
Tariff Item 23-A(4) of the Central Excise Tariff.

H All members constituents may please be informed accordingly".
I
i
'
U.0.1. v. J.G. GLASS INDUSTRIES LTD. [SRINIVASAN, J.] 357

19. Learned counsel submits that it is not open to the Revenue to A
raise any contention contrary to the notice. Our atterition is drawn to the
judgment of this Court in Collector of Central Excise, Patna v. Usha Martin ·
lndust1ies, (1997) 94 E.L.T. 460 S.C. to which one of us (S.C. Sen) was
party.

B
It has been held in that case that Revenue cannot be permitted to
take a stand contrary to the instructions issued by the Board and
departmental Circulars issued before enactment of Section 378 of Central
Excise Act or thereafter, are equally binding on Revenue as the object in
either case was the same namely, to achieve uniformity in the classification.
Learned counsel contends that even if the trade notice is held to be not C
binding on the Revenue as such, it can be used by the assessee to show
that the Department has also understood the relevant expression
'manufacture' in the same manner. In the present case it may not be
necessary for us to rely upon the trade notice. We have already pointed
out that printing on bottles will not amount to 'manufacture' within the D
meaning of Section 2(t) of the Act.

20. It is useful to refer to the tariff description in Item No. 23-A of
the Central Excise Tariff. The general description of the item is 'glass' and
'glassware'. There are four categories namely, (1) flat-glass (2) laboratory
glassware (3) glass shells, glass globes and chimneys for lamps and lanterns E
and (4) other glass and glasswares including tableware. Admittedly, the
bottles whether printed or not fall under category (4) mentioned above. If
the contention of the Revenue is accepted it would lead to double taxation
under the same tariff item. While at the gate of the main factory duty is
leviable on the plain bottles under 23- A(4), once again duty will be leviable F
on the printed bottles after the process of printing is over in the premises
where such printing is carried out. Such duty will undoubtedly be on the
value of the printed bottles which will include not only the cost of manufac-
ture of the bottles but also the cost of printing charges. The revenue cannot
be permitted to levy duty twice on the same item when there is no warrant
therefor in the relevant provisions of the Act. G

21. In the circumstances there is no difficulty in holding that the view
taken by the Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No. ED/SB 682/84-A is er-
roneous inasmuch as the process of printing is being carried out in a
separate premise as found by the Tribuna_l and such process is not H
358 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1997] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A 'manufacture' within the meaning of the Act. Consequently, Civil Appeal
No. 767 of 1991 has to be and is hereby allowed. The order of the Tribunal
as well as those of the Collector and Assistant Collector are set aside. The
show cause notice issued by the Revenue to the appellant in Civil Appeal
No. 767 of 1991 is quashecil.

B 22. It follows that the Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 8316 of 1994
filed by the Union of India has to be and is hereby dismissed.

23. In so far as civil Appeal No. 2882 of 1993 is concerned, the
contention of the appellant has lo be accepted on the facts of the case. It
C is _not in dispute that the printing on the bottles is also carried out in the
same factory where the bottles are manufactured and the ultimate product
which happens to be the excisable item at the gate of the factory is the
printed bottle as such. Hence, the value of printed bottles including print-
ing charges is the assessable value of the excisable goods and duty is
chargeable thereon. The decision of the High Court is erroneous inasmuch (
D as it has failed to take not of the fact that the printing on the bottles is also
completed within the same factory premises. Hence, the appeal is allowed.
The judgment of the High Court is set aside. The order of the Collector
dated 7.7.1988 in F. No. R0-943/83 is restored.

24. In both the appeals and the Special Leave Petition the parties
E will bear their own costs.

V.S.S. Appeals allowed. .