Appellate Tribunal allows appeal delay, disposes stay petitions, upholds freight expenses inclusion.

The Appellate Tribunal allowed the condonation of a two-day delay in filing the appeal. Two stay petitions concerning duty demands were disposed of together, with variations in the periods for which the demands were confirmed. The Tribunal upheld the inclusion of freight expenses in the assessable value for FOR sales, directing the appellant to make a specific deposit within a given timeframe. The judgment provided detailed reasoning for these decisions.

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Issues:
1. Condonation of delay in filing appeal
2. Confirmation of duty demands for two separate periods
3. Inclusion of freight expenses in assessable value for FOR sales

Analysis:
1. The judgment deals with the condonation of a two-day delay in filing the appeal, which was allowed in both cases by the Appellate Tribunal. This issue was addressed at the beginning of the judgment.

2. The Tribunal disposed of two stay petitions by a common order as the issue involved was identical. One stay petition involved a duty demand of Rs. 58,04,341 confirmed for the period February 2007 to March 2011, while the other petition had an amount of Rs. 8,66,661 confirmed within the limitation period. The Tribunal noted the difference in the periods for which the duty demands were confirmed.

3. The appellants were selling their final product on a FOR basis and using their own trucks for transportation to customer premises. The demands were confirmed on the grounds that freight expenses incurred by the appellants for transporting goods to the buyers' premises needed to be included in the assessable value. The Tribunal considered arguments from both sides but found that the appellant did not have a strong prima facie case on merits to dispense with the condition of pre-deposit. However, the Tribunal directed the appellant to deposit a specific amount within a set timeframe for the demand confirmed within the limitation period. The judgment provided detailed reasoning for this decision.

This comprehensive analysis covers the key issues addressed in the legal judgment, including the condonation of delay, confirmation of duty demands, and the inclusion of freight expenses in the assessable value for FOR sales.

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