2003 (3) TMI 100 - SC - Central Excise

Summary

Issues Involved: Appeal against the Final Order of Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal to determine if the Tribunal was correct in reversing the order of the Assistant Collector as confirmed by the Collector.

Summary:
In this appeal, the Supreme Court considered the controversy surrounding the valuation of excisable goods for charging excise duty under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Act specifies that the duty of excise is chargeable based on the normal price at which goods are sold in wholesale trade, provided certain conditions are met. The respondent-assessee sold refrigeration machinery parts in wholesale trade at a price approved by the Excise authorities. The show cause notice alleged that the cost of production exceeded the wholesale price, leading to a demand for differential duty. However, the notice did not raise concerns about the genuineness of the sale price or any flowback of money from the buyer to the assessee. The Court held that in the absence of such factors, the normal price was ascertainable, and the goods were sold at the correct price as per Section 4(1)(a) of the Act.

The Court referenced a previous judgment and concluded that the nearest ascertainable equivalent of the normal price under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 4 would not apply in this case. It upheld the Tribunal's decision to accept the wholesale price as the correct price, dismissing the appeal and finding no illegality in setting aside the Collector's order. The appeal was ultimately dismissed with no costs incurred.