Place of removal under excise valuation fixed petroleum product duty on ex-terminal price, not COCO retail price.

For clearances of petroleum products to company-owned, company-operated outlets before 14.05.2003, assessable value was required to be determined by reference to the price at the terminal point under the pre-amendment definition of "place of removal" in Section 4(4) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. COCO outlets were not treated as the place of removal for that period, so the later retail sale price charged by the outlets did not govern excise valuation. Duty was therefore payable on the ex-terminal price, and retail collections from buyers were not includible in assessable value.

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Issues: Whether, for clearances of petroleum products to company-owned company-operated outlets during the period prior to 14.05.2003, the assessable value was to be determined on the basis of the price at the terminal point and not the retail price charged by the outlets.

Analysis: The applicable valuation turned on the definition of "place of removal" under Section 4(4) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as it stood before the amendment effective from 14.05.2003. For that period, COCO outlets were not treated as the place of removal. The goods were cleared from the terminal point on payment of duty, and the subsequent retail sale by the outlets did not govern valuation. The price relevant for duty was the price at the point of removal, and later collection from retail buyers was immaterial for assessable value. The earlier tribunal decisions relied on the same principle and were followed.

Conclusion: The assessable value had to be fixed on the ex-terminal price, and the price charged by COCO outlets was not includible.

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