Compounded levy scheme does not apply to inner filter khaini sachets; duty is assessable under normal excise provisions.

Filter khaini sachets placed manually inside a larger sealed pouch were treated as not independently marketable in the form in which they emerged from the packing process. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that such inner sachets, even if packed with the aid of a machine, do not themselves answer the description of notified goods for the compounded levy scheme. Duty was therefore to be assessed under the normal provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944 rather than under the special capacity-based levy.

---

---

Issues: Whether the filter khaini sachets packed in a larger pouch were liable to duty under the compounded levy scheme as notified goods, or only under the normal provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The goods in question were small sachets without any brand name, MRP, warnings, or manufacturer particulars, and were placed manually in a larger printed pouch that was sealed thereafter. The larger pouch was treated as the final container, while the sachets inside were not independently marketable in the condition in which they emerged from the packing process. The Tribunal followed its earlier view that such inner sachets, though packed with the aid of a machine, do not by themselves answer the description of notified goods for the purposes of the compounded levy scheme. The applicable approach was therefore to assess duty under the normal excise provisions rather than under the special capacity-based scheme.

Conclusion: The filter khaini sachets were not liable to duty under the compounded levy scheme and were to be assessed under the normal provisions of law.

---