Assessable value under central excise excludes dealer pre-delivery inspection and after-sales service charges for motor vehicles.

Pre-delivery inspection charges and after-sales service charges incurred by dealers for motor vehicles are not includible in the assessable value under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 for excise duty purposes. The assessee did not claim any deduction of those dealer-incurred expenses after the relevant date, and the Revenue produced no material to the contrary. The stated legal position, as affirmed by the Supreme Court, is that such dealer service charges do not form part of the assessable value. Accordingly, a demand confirming duty on that basis cannot be sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the value of pre-delivery inspection charges and after-sales service charges incurred by dealers in respect of motor vehicles sold by the assessee was includible in the assessable value for levy of central excise duty.

Analysis: The assessee did not claim deduction of the dealer-incurred pre-delivery inspection and after-sales service expenses from the assessable value after the relevant date, and the Revenue brought no contrary material to displace that position. The governing legal position, as affirmed by the Supreme Court, is that such charges do not form part of the assessable value under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 for the purpose of excise duty on motor vehicles.

Conclusion: The value of pre-delivery inspection charges and after-sales service charges was not includible in the assessable value, and the demand confirming duty on that basis could not be sustained.

---