2017 (4) TMI 1124 - AT - Central Excise

Tribunal excludes service charges from assessable value, deems demand time-barred

M/s. Indian Card Clothing Co. Ltd. Versus Commissioner of Central Excise, Pune-I

The Tribunal held that service charges for repairing old card clothing should not be included in the assessable value of newly manufactured goods as the ... Valuation - servicing activities like repair and maintenance etc. relating to card clothing - includibility - contention of the department is that these services prima facie appear to be aiding/ smoothening in installation/ sale of the finished goods that they were issuing separate demands for recovering the cost of these services from their customer, which they failed to include in assessable value of the products - Held that: - Since the repairing activity is carried out on the old card clothing which also includes the goods initially supplied by some other manufacturer, therefore the said repairing activity has no relation to the manufacture and clearance of new card clothing manufactured by the appellant. In such case the service charge of the repairing is not in relation to the sale of the newly manufactured card clothing cleared by the appellant. Therefore, there is no question of addition of service charge of the repairing activity of old card clothing in the assessable value of newly manufactured card clothing - appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant. Issues:- Whether the service charges for repair of old card clothing should be included in the assessable value of newly manufactured goods.- Whether the demand for the extended period is time-barred.- Whether the penalty under Section 11AC is imposable.Analysis:Issue 1: Inclusion of Service Charges in Assessable ValueThe case involved a dispute regarding the inclusion of service charges for repairing old card clothing in the assessable value of newly manufactured goods. The appellant argued that the repairing activity was separate from the sale of newly manufactured goods and was carried out on old card clothing sent to their depot by customers. The Tribunal noted that the repairing was not related to the newly manufactured goods and was conducted on old card clothing, some of which were not even manufactured by the appellant. As the repairing activity was independent and the service charges were collected separately, the Tribunal held that these charges should not be included in the assessable value of the newly manufactured goods. The appellant was registered as a service provider for the repair activity, further supporting the separation of this service from the sale of new goods. The Tribunal set aside the demand to include service charges in the assessable value.Issue 2: Time-Barred DemandThe appellant contended that the demand for the extended period was time-barred as there was no suppression of facts. The Tribunal did not find any suppression and held that the penalty under Section 11AC was not imposable. The appellant's argument was supported by legal precedents cited during the proceedings.ConclusionThe Tribunal, after considering submissions from both sides, concluded that the repairing service charges for old card clothing should not be added to the assessable value of newly manufactured goods. The demand for the extended period was deemed time-barred, and the penalty under Section 11AC was not applicable due to the lack of suppression of facts. The impugned order was set aside, and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief as per the law.