Place of removal under excise valuation cannot extend to buyer's premises merely because transit insurance is in the manufacturer's name.

Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 confined the place of removal to the manufacturer's factory or other manufacturer-linked premises, so the buyer's premises could not be treated as the place of removal merely because transit insurance stood in the manufacturer's name. Freight from the place of removal to the place of delivery was therefore not includible in assessable value, and Rule 5 of the Central Excise Valuation Rules, 2000 likewise excluded transportation cost beyond the place of removal. Ex-works transactions and invoicing and dispatch in the customers' names reinforced that transit insurance alone did not show retention of ownership or defer the sale.

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Issues: Whether, on the facts of the case, the buyer's premises could be treated as the place of removal so as to include freight charges in the assessable value of excisable goods, merely because the manufacturer had taken transit insurance in its own name.

Analysis: The valuation provisions of Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, as they stood during the relevant periods, restricted the concept of "place of removal" to the manufacturer's factory, depot, warehouse, consignment agent's premises, or other manufacturer-linked premises, and did not permit the buyer's premises to be treated as the place of removal. Freight from the place of removal to the place of delivery was not includible, and Rule 5 of the Central Excise Valuation (Determination of Price of Excisable Goods) Rules, 2000 also excluded transportation cost from the place of removal to the place of delivery. The mere fact that transit insurance stood in the manufacturer's name did not, by itself, establish retention of ownership or postpone the sale, especially where the transactions were on ex-works terms and the goods were invoiced and dispatched in the customers' names.

Conclusion: The buyer's premises could not be treated as the place of removal on the basis of transit insurance alone, and freight charges were not liable to be added to the assessable value. The demand was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the place of removal cannot be extended to the buyer's premises merely because the manufacturer arranges transit insurance; freight is includible only up to the place of removal, not beyond it.

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