Assessable value for consignment-agent clearances follows factory-gate sales, not the agents' resale price.

Excisable goods cleared to consignment agents for onward sale were not to be valued by reference to the agents' resale price, because the agents acted only on behalf of the manufacturer and were not a separate class of buyers for valuation purposes. Where assessable value had already been correctly determined under Section 4(1)(a) on the basis of factory-gate sales to independent buyers, that value governed subsequent clearances of the same goods, including removals to consignment agents and for captive consumption. The price at which the consignment agents later sold the goods was therefore irrelevant, and the departmental appeal failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether excisable goods removed to consignment agents for sale were to be treated as sales to such agents, and whether the assessable value for such clearances had to be determined with reference to the price at which the consignment agents sold the goods to buyers.

Analysis: The assessable value had already been determined under Section 4(1)(a) on the basis of factory-gate sales to independent buyers. Once such value is available and adopted after scrutiny of the price list, it governs all clearances of the same goods, including removals to consignment agents for subsequent sale or removals for captive consumption. The consignment agents acted only on behalf of the manufacturer and the transactions were not treated as sales to a separate class of buyers for valuation purposes.

Conclusion: The price at which consignment agents subsequently sold the goods was not the relevant basis for valuation, and the assessable value determined under Section 4(1)(a) applied to the clearances in question. The departmental appeal failed.

---