Freight and transportation charges are not part of assessable value merely because they were not separately shown in the excise invoice.

Freight and transportation charges separately collected over and above the invoice value are not includible in the assessable value of excisable goods merely because they are not shown separately in the excise invoice. The separate disclosure in the invoice serves only to identify the actual freight amount; it does not change the character of transportation charges where they are separately negotiated and otherwise ascertainable. On that basis, the demand was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether freight and transportation charges separately collected over and above the invoice value are includible in the assessable value of excisable goods merely because they were not shown separately in the excise invoice.

Analysis: The demand was sustained below only on the footing that the freight was not separately indicated in the invoice issued under Rule 11 of the Central Excise Rules, 2001. The separate disclosure of freight is relevant only to identify the actual amount of freight. Freight, by itself, is not includible in the assessable value, and the mode of reflection in the invoice does not alter its character where the amount is otherwise identifiable as transportation charges. If transportation is separately negotiated and ascertainable, the mere absence of a separate entry in the excise invoice does not make it liable to excise duty.

Conclusion: The freight and transportation charges were not includible in the assessable value, and the demand was not sustainable.

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