STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. ASIAN AEROSOL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE following question is referred to this Court by the Gujarat Sales Tax Tribunal, Ahmedabad, under section 69 of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, hereinafter referred to as "the Act" : " Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of this case, the Tribunal was right, in law in holding that the process of transferring and/or collecting and/or filling liquid petroleum gas from a big container into specially designed tins of smaller different sizes was not a process of' manufacture' as defined in section 2 (16) of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, and that the sales of such tins of smaller different sizes along with special adopters cannot be said to be sales of a new commercial commodity as manufactured by the opponent-firm ?"

(2.) THE following is the brief factual background of the case : THE opponent-firm, M/s. Asian Aerosol, which is a small-scale industry established in the industrial estate at Vapi, carries on business of manufacturing silicon spray, etc. , and one of its activities is of refilling liquid petroleum gas ("lpg", for short) in smaller packings for sale. For this purpose it purchases inflammable gas in a cylinder of 14 kilograms and refills the same gas without any modification in smaller packings of 85 ml. , 100 ml. , 180 ml. and 240 ml. by adopting the mechanism of pump drawing, and such smaller packings are marketed by the opponent-firm as "gas for lighter (helping hand)"

(3.) THE opponent-firm challenged this determination by filing Appeal No. 15/80 which came to be allowed by the Gujarat Sales Tax Tribunal.