ORDER
P.C. Jain, Vice President
1. Short question involved in this matter is whether cutting of Cupronickel Process pipes to sizes and joining them by hightech welding process, namely, radiography to make them of different shapes like Tees, Us, Ls etc. amounts to bringing into existence a new commodity having a different name, character and use leviable to duty again or not. Lower Authority has held that the aforesaid process undertaken by the appellants herein brings into existence new products.
2. It is against the aforesaid order that the appellants have come in appeal. They have requested to decide the appeal on the basis of the available records.
3. We have heard ld. JDR Shri S. Nunthuk for the Revenue. He reiterates the aforesaid finding of the Adjudicating authority. The lower authority in coming to its conclusion has relied on Tribunal’s judgment in the case of Richardson Cruddas 1998 (38) E.L.T. 176 (T). Ld. JDR further takes support from another judgment of the Tribunal in the case of Simplex Casting Pvt. Ltd. v. C.C.E., Indore reported in 1997 (94) E.L.T. 502 (T). Ld. JDR, therefore, prays for confirming the impugned order.
4. As against the above, the appellants herein have contended that process of cutting and welding does not amount to process of manufacture and they have relied upon the Tribunal’s judgment as follows :-
1. 1998 (36) E.L.T. 613 (SAE India v. C.C.E.)
This judgment in turn relies upon the following judgments :
1. 1986 (28) E.L.T. 352
2. 1984 (17) E.L.T. 127
3. 1986 (25) E.L.T. 580
4. 1987 (32) E.L.T. 15
5. We have carefully considered the pleas advanced from both sides. We observe that the appellants have only undertaken the process of cutting the cupronickel pipes to specific sizes and welding them together to bring them to different shapes as mentioned above. They still remain pipes, pipe joints or pipe fittings of different shapes. They do not change the character of the pipes and no new products will come into existence. This finding is fortified by a judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Bharat Forge and Press Industries v. C.C.E. reported in 1990 (45) E.L.T. 525 (S.C.) where in it has been held the pipe fittings remain classifiable under Item 26AA of the Central Excise Tariff as pipes. It has been held by the Apex Court that cutting of pipes to specific sizes and shapes does not bring into existence a new commodity calling for a new duty liability under Tariff Heading 68. Following the ratio of the aforesaid judgment, we set aside the impugned order and allow the appeal holding that the process undertaken by the appellants herein does not amount to manufacture of new commodity. In short appeal is allowed with consequential relief to the appellants.