Wholesale package valuation under excise law falls under Section 4 where MRP declaration is not legally required.

Goods cleared to wholesale dealers in bulk boxes for onward distribution were treated as wholesale packages under the Packaged Commodities Rules, not retail packages. Because Rule 29 required only wholesale declarations and did not require declaration of retail sale price, the statutory condition for valuation under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was not met. In the absence of a legal requirement to affix MRP on these packages, valuation had to be made under Section 4. The demand based on Section 4A was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the goods cleared by the assessee to wholesalers in bulk packages were liable to be assessed under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, or under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The goods were sold to wholesale dealers in boxes of 100 pieces intended for further distribution in smaller quantities. On the definitions of wholesale package and multi-piece package under Rule 2(x) and Rule 2(j) of the Standard of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977, the clearances answered the character of wholesale packages. Rule 29 required declarations on wholesale packages, but did not require declaration of retail sale price. The conditions necessary for valuation under Section 4A, as explained by the Supreme Court, were therefore not satisfied because there was no legal requirement to affix MRP on such wholesale packages.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly valued under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and not under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944; the demand based on Section 4A was unsustainable.

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