TMI Blog1996 (7) TMI 144X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... llenge of an order passed by the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) repelling the contention of the appellant that the commodity `commercial plywood' processed by the appellant is not liable to excise duty as the duty was paid for the plywood before its processing. 2.The case of the appellant-company is the following. Appellant is engaged in processing commercial plywood by applying Phenol Formaldehyde Resin under 100 per cent heat and pressure and coats the plywood with wire mesh, either on one side or on both sides so as to make it slip-proof commercial plywood. The product is mostly used in body building of vehicles or for flooring etc. On 3-9-1986, the Assistant Collector of Central Excise issued show cause ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s to be afforded to the appellant now also. We are not disposed to decide the question merely on the strength of the stand which the Assistant Collector had adopted prior to 1985. Then counsel invited our attention to the advice tendered by the Board of Central Excise in 1975 that "duty should be charged at the plywood stage as commercial plywood and subsequent alterations etc. should be ignored" (vide CBE C Bulletin for January-March, 1975). Such an advice is irrelevant in dealing with the tariff prescribed in 1985. 6.CEGAT has considered the factual position whether the process of applying Phenol Formaldehyde Resin on plywood is only a nominal process which does not affect the identity of the commodity or whether it is a substantial p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pointed out that the purpose of galvanising the steel pipe is merely to make it weather-proof. 9.Nor does the decision in Collector of Customs Central Excise and Anr. v. Oriental Timber Industries - 1985 (3) SCC 85, cited before us by the learned counsel afford any useful support to the appellant's contention. The question considered therein was the stage at which the plywood used for manufacturing plywood "circles" became liable to excise duty. In Collector of Central Excise, Bombay v. Popular Cotton Covering Works - 1994 (73) E.L.T. 264, the contention raised by the assessee was that the works done by him for winding cotton or fibre-yarn on the electric wire does not amount to manufacture of a new product. The contention was upheld by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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