Separate freight charges do not form part of excise value when shown independently in invoices and recovered from buyers.

Freight or transportation charges separately recovered from buyers are not includible in the assessable value or transaction value of excisable goods when shown separately in invoices. The Tribunal applied the Supreme Court principle that profit earned on extra transport charges does not alter their character as a separate recovery, and held that the same position continues under the amended transaction value regime. It therefore excluded the extra freight from central excise valuation and set aside the impugned order.

---

---

Issues: Whether the extra transportation charges collected from buyers could be included in the assessable value or transaction value of the goods for central excise purposes.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the dispute was covered by the Supreme Court's ruling that any profit earned by charging extra transport charges could not be treated as part of the assessable value of the goods. It further held that the same principle continued to apply even under the amended concept of transaction value, where freight is separately charged and shown in the invoices.

Conclusion: The extra freight or transportation charges were not includible in the assessable value or transaction value. The impugned order was set aside and the appeal was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: Freight or transportation charges separately recovered from buyers do not form part of the assessable value or transaction value of excisable goods merely because the manufacturer derives profit from such charges.

---