1997 (2) TMI 136 - SC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues involved: Challenge to show cause notices issued by Assistant Collector of Central Excise regarding inclusion of value of bought out items in assessable value of weighbridges.

Judgment Details:

1. The petitioners, manufacturers of electronic truck weighing systems, were informed to include the value of bought out items in the assessable value of weighbridges based on a previous court judgment. Show cause notices were issued challenging this decision.

2. An interim order allowed the proceedings to continue with no recoveries until the writ petition was decided. The show cause notices were later confirmed during the pendency of the writ petition.

3. The court noted a previous case where it was clarified that the liability to excise duty was only for the indicating system of the weighbridge, not the entire weighbridge itself. It was emphasized that the previous judgment did not categorize weighbridges as excisable goods.

4. Referring to the earlier case law, the court directed the petitioners to file appeals against the orders confirming the show cause notices. The appeals were to be decided considering the judgment in the mentioned case and other relevant judgments, with no limitation on time for filing the appeals and no requirement for pre-deposit for the appeal hearing.

5. The court mentioned that the directions provided had the agreement of the respondents' counsel.

6. The writ petition was disposed of with no order as to costs.