A product with a very short shelf life is still marketable and cannot claim exemption from excise duty on that account, the Supreme Court stated while dismissing the appeal of Nicholas Piramal India Ltd against the view of the Commissioner of Central Excise, Mumbai.

The pharma company had argued that its Vitamin A in crude form had a shelf life of only two to three days and therefore the product was not marketable.

Therefore, central excise cannot be imposed on it. The tribunal rejected the contention.

On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the tribunals view and clarified: Short shelf life cannot be equated with no shelf life and would not ipso facto mean that it cannot be marketed. A shelf life of two to three days is sufficiently long enough for a product to be commercially marketed.