2002 (2) TMI 820 - AT - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Inclusion of charges for hire of storage tanks in assessable value of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen; Commissioner's refusal to follow earlier Tribunal decision based on Supreme Court judgment.

Inclusion of charges for hire of storage tanks: The Tribunal considered the question of whether charges for hire of specially fabricated storage tanks should be included in the assessable value of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen manufactured and sold by the appellant. The Commissioner had held these charges to be includible and imposed a penalty on the appellant. However, the Tribunal, relying on a previous decision and the Supreme Court judgment in CCE v. Indian Oxygen Ltd., held that such charges were not includible as they were distinguishable from the manufacturing activity undertaken by the appellant in relation to the gases.

Commissioner's refusal to follow earlier Tribunal decision: The Tribunal found the Commissioner's order to be unsupported for two main reasons. Firstly, the Commissioner failed to follow the Tribunal's earlier order, which had correctly applied the Supreme Court judgment. The Tribunal noted that if the Commissioner disagreed with the Tribunal's decision, he should have appealed to a higher court rather than disregarding the Tribunal's order. Secondly, the Tribunal found that the Commissioner had no merit in not applying the Supreme Court's judgment, as the situation in the present case was similar to the one considered by the Supreme Court. The appellant had provided a list of buyers to whom storage tanks were provided and those to whom they were not, indicating that the charges were not applicable in all cases. The Tribunal, therefore, concluded that there was no reason to differ from its earlier view and allowed the appeals, setting aside the impugned order.

This judgment highlights the importance of following legal precedents and the need for authorities to provide valid reasons for departing from established decisions.