Royalty deduction from assessable value barred re-agitation after final appellate order and verified payment.

Royalty was held deductible from assessable value where payment to the principal was established, and the earlier appellate order on that point had attained finality because it was not challenged. On remand, the adjudicating authority verified the evidence, found that royalty had in fact been paid, and excluded it from the assessable value in accordance with the earlier direction. The later appeal was treated as an attempt to reopen an issue already concluded, and the subsequent proceedings were held barred by merger of the later order into the unchallenged appellate determination. The Revenue's appeal was therefore dismissed as not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue's appeal was maintainable when the royalty-deduction issue had already attained finality in the earlier appellate order and the matter remanded only for verification of payment.

Analysis: The earlier appellate order had already held that royalty would be deductible from the assessable value if payment to the principal was established. The Revenue did not challenge that order. On remand, the adjudicating authority verified the evidence and found that royalty had in fact been paid, and therefore excluded the amount from the assessable value. Since the later proceedings merely gave effect to the earlier appellate direction, the issue was no longer open for re-agitation. The subsequent appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) and then before the Tribunal was consequently barred by merger of the later order into the earlier unchallenged appellate determination.

Conclusion: The Revenue's appeal was not maintainable and was dismissed.

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