Place of removal and assessable value: freight and insurance excluded where goods were sold before transport.

Where goods were sold before transport and the sale invoices separately reflected the machine price and transport charges, the buyer's premises could not be treated as the place of removal. Freight and insurance were therefore not includible in the assessable value, because the sale had already been completed prior to movement of the goods. On that basis, inclusion of those charges was not justified and the Revenue's appeals were rejected by CESTAT, New Delhi.

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Issues: Whether freight and insurance were includible in the assessable value by treating the buyer's premises as the place of removal when the goods had been sold before transport.

Analysis: The sale invoices showed that the goods were sold prior to their transport and that the cost of the machine and transport charges were shown separately. On that basis, the place of removal could not be treated as the purchaser's premises, and freight and insurance could not be added to the assessable value.

Conclusion: The inclusion of freight and insurance in the assessable value was not justified, and the Revenue's appeals were rejected.

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