2017 (6) TMI 533 - AT - Central Excise

Valuation - medicaments supplied to the Government hospitals and institutional buyers viz. Railway, BHEL, BPCL etc - case of Revenue is that under Drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995, the Appellants are required to affix the MRP on the medicaments even sold to these buyers, accordingly, the goods are liable to be assessed under Section 4A of Central Excise Act, 1944 - Held that - in Circular No.625/210/2002-CX, dt.20.02.2002, the Board has already clarified and directed to the field formation to obtain necessary clarification/opinion from the State authorities who are entrusted the task of the administration of the relevant legislation - In the present case, the Adjudicating authority ought to have obtained/collected opinion of the Drug Controller Authority of the respective State Govt. and accordingly proceeded with the matter. Therefore, all these appeals be remanded to the Adjudicating Commissioner - appeal allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
Assessment of medicaments under Section 4 or 4A of Central Excise Act, 1944 for supplies to hospitals and institutional buyers.

Analysis:
The appeals involved a common issue of assessing medicaments cleared to hospitals and institutional buyers under Section 4 or 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Appellants, engaged in manufacturing pharmaceutical products, faced objections from the Revenue for not affixing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) on medicaments supplied to these buyers. The dispute centered around whether the goods should be assessed under Section 4A due to the absence of MRP on the primary packages. The Appellants argued that since the medicaments were not intended for resale but for consumption by the buyers, they were correctly assessed under Section 4. The Revenue contended that without a specific exemption under the Drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995, the goods should be assessed under Section 4A. The circular issued by the Board emphasized obtaining clarification from State authorities regarding affixing the retail sale price on medicaments.

The Tribunal observed that the core issue was the requirement of printing/affixing the retail sale price on medicaments for assessment under Section 4A. The Board's circular highlighted the need to seek clarification from State authorities regarding this matter. The Tribunal concluded that the Adjudicating authority should have obtained opinions from the Drug Controller Authority of the respective State government before proceeding. Therefore, the appeals were remanded to the Adjudicating Commissioner to re-adjudicate the cases after obtaining necessary clarification from the State authority administering the Drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995. The decision allowed for a fresh assessment based on the clarifications from the State authorities, keeping all issues open for further consideration.