Chassis value exclusion in motor vehicle excise valuation upheld where credit on chassis was not taken.

Under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., an independent body builder valuing motor vehicles was not required to include the duty-paid value of the chassis in the assessable value, because the notification expressly excluded chassis value where no duty credit on the chassis was taken. The text notes that this exclusionary language was materially similar to Notification No. 241/86-C.E., and the Board clarification and earlier Tribunal view on chassis valuation therefore applied equally. On that basis, the chassis duty did not form part of the central excise assessable value, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether, for motor vehicles manufactured by an independent body builder under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E., the duty paid value of the chassis is required to be included in the assessable value for levy of central excise duty.

Analysis: The exemption scheme under Notification No. 6/2002-C.E. expressly provided that the value of the vehicle shall be taken excluding the value of the chassis used in such vehicle, subject to the condition that no credit of duty on the chassis was taken. The earlier Notification No. 241/86-C.E. contained materially similar language. Since the exemption language in both notifications was substantially the same, the clarification issued by the Board and the earlier Tribunal view holding that the chassis value is excludible where credit is not availed applied with equal force. The duty paid on the chassis, therefore, did not become part of the assessable value in the hands of the independent body builder.

Conclusion: The chassis value was not includible in the assessable value, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

---