2013 (7) TMI 635 - AT - Central Excise

Assessable Value to be reduced by the amount of discount given to the buyers Held that - appellant had never disclosed the pattern of discount to the Department which has proved evasion of the duty - appellant has neither given the discount to all buyers nor the discount was known to buyers. When the discount is not known to the buyers, the appellant shall not get any deduction of the same from the assessable value Appeal dismissed Decided against the Assessee.

Summary

Issues:

1. Whether the discount given should have reduced the assessable value.
2. Whether there is evidence to support the benefit claimed.

Issue 1:

The appellant argued that the discount given should have reduced the assessable value, claiming that there was no evidence to deny the benefit. However, the Revenue supported the adjudication. The Adjudicating Authority concluded that the appellant had not disclosed the discount pattern to the Department, leading to duty evasion. The Commissioner (Appeals) found that the discount was not given to all buyers and was unknown to them, thus disallowing any deduction from the assessable value based on the lack of buyer awareness.

Issue 2:

The appellant relied on judgments from the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat and the case of Metal Box India Ltd. to support their position. However, the tribunal found that the appellant's case was not similar to Metal Box India Ltd. due to different buyer circumstances. The judgment of the High Court of Gujarat was deemed unhelpful due to the non-disclosure of discounts to buyers as highlighted by the Adjudicating Authority. Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the appeal based on the lack of buyer awareness of discounts.

In conclusion, the tribunal upheld the adjudication order, emphasizing that the appellant's failure to disclose discounts to buyers resulted in the dismissal of the appeal. The judgment highlighted the importance of transparency in discount practices and its impact on the assessable value in duty calculations.