Judgment

Kapadia, J.—A short question which arises for determination in these civil appeals filed by the department under section 35-L(b) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (for short “the said Act”) is - whether the process of unwinding, cutting and slitting to sizes of jumbo rolls of tissue paper would amount to “manufacture” on first principles or under section 2(f) of the said Act?

2. The above question arises in this batch of civil appeals. For the sake of convenience, we mention herein below the facts in Civil Appeal Nos. 5293-5294 of 2001.

3. The assessee was engaged in the activity of cutting/slitting of jumbo rolls of tissue paper of a width exceeding 36 cms. The jumbo rolls were purchased on payment of excise duty from various suppliers like M/s. Ellora Paper Mills and M/s. Padamjee Paper Mills etc., who are the manufacturers of such jumbo rolls. The duty was paid under tariff heading 48.03 Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act, 1985”). The jumbo rolls purchased by the assessee were of a kind normally used for household or sanitary purposes. All that the assessee was doing was to reduce the width to less than 36 cms. On such reduction of the width