Repacking gas attracts excise duty

Buying gas in bulk from market and repacking them in smaller cylinders after tests and giving different grades to it to be sold in open market would attract excise duty, the Supreme Court stated while dismissing the appeal of the manufacturer in the case, Air Liquide North India Ltd vs Commissioner. The company supplied helium gas to customers according to the specifications of its customers. It bought gas by its generic name and after tests and analysis sold them to different customers based on their specific requirements at a profit margin. The process was not revealed by the company as it claimed that it was its “trade secret”. The court held that the process of tests and categorization gave the gas different marketability and amounted to manufacture, attracting duty.