- (1.) CIVIL APPEAL No. 1411 of 1995. By judgment and order dated 28th October, 1994, in Appeal No. E/139/94-D. Customs Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal") arrived at the conclusion that 'Glass Moulds" along with plastic Gasket were classifiable under Central Excise Tariff Chapter heading 70.15 as 'other articles of glass' and thereby confirmed the order passed by the Collector of Central Excise, Aurangabad.
(2.) The questions for consideration before the Tribunal were :- (1) Whether grinding and polishing of Opthalmic Blanks into Glass Moulds amounts to manufacture (2) Whether the goods are known in the market as Glass Moulds (3) Whether the goods should be classified under Chapter sub-heading 84.80 or under Chapter 70.15 of the Central Excise Tariff
(3.) For the first question, the Tribunal came to the conclusion that the product which comes out after grinding and polishing is product completely different from raw-material, namely, the opthalmic blanks. The ground and polished material acquires different characteristic and properties, and a new product distinct in name, character and use comes into existence after the process of grinding and polishing. Thus, the process of grinding and polishing is nothing but a process of manufacture.;