Extended limitation not available where optional software valuation was legally debatable and the assessee's view was bona fide.

Optional software supplied separately at the buyer's choice was disputed as part of the assessable value of manufactured goods, but the Tribunal found the valuation position was not free from doubt and had been considered in earlier Supreme Court jurisprudence. Because the assessee held a bona fide view supported by competing legal interpretations on valuation, the extended period of limitation could not be invoked for duty demand on that basis. The demand was therefore set aside on limitation in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the extended period of limitation could be invoked for demanding duty by including the value of optional software supplied separately at the buyer's option in the assessable value of the goods.

Analysis: The dispute concerned whether software supplied separately and optionally to customers formed part of the assessable value of the manufactured goods. The Tribunal noted that the question had earlier been considered in the light of the Supreme Court's decisions on the treatment of software and assessable value, and that the legal position was not free from doubt. In these circumstances, where the assessee had a bona fide view supported by the earlier jurisprudence and the issue itself involved competing views on valuation, the invocation of the extended period was not justified.

Conclusion: The extended period of limitation could not be invoked, and the demand was set aside on limitation in favour of the assessee.

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