Job work valuation under Central Excise follows Ujjagar Prints; trader principal's sale price cannot replace assessable value.

For goods manufactured on job work basis, assessable value under the Central Excise Act, 1944 was required to follow the Ujjagar Prints principle under the amended valuation regime. The Tribunal noted that the Board's circular and the valuation rules prescribed application of that principle, and found no basis to substitute the trader principal's sale price as the assessable value. The valuation adopted by the job worker was therefore sustained, and the attempt to assess duty on the trader's sale price was rejected.

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Issues: Whether, in the case of goods manufactured on job work basis, the assessable value under the Central Excise Act, 1944 could be taken as the sale price of the trader principal under the new valuation rules, or whether valuation had to be made on the basis of the Ujjagar Prints formula.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the Board's circular on job work valuation under the amended Section 4 and the valuation rules itself prescribed application of the Ujjagar Prints principle. It further held that there was no reason to depart from the valuation adopted by the appellants, and that the sale price of the trader who got the goods manufactured could not, by any interpretation, be treated as the assessable value under the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Conclusion: The valuation adopted by the appellants was upheld, and the Revenue's attempt to adopt the trader's sale price as the assessable value was rejected, in favour of the assessee.

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