Catering packs without retail sale price fall outside section 4A valuation, so section 4 applies instead.

Ice cream cleared in 50 ml and 100 ml catering packs for hotels, parlours and caterers was not required to bear a retail sale price and was not meant for independent retail sale. Section 4A of the Central Excise Act applies only where the package is required under the weights and measures law to declare retail sale price; on these facts, that condition was not met. The packs were therefore outside section 4A, and valuation under section 4 was proper. The revenue appeal failed.

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Issues: Whether ice cream cleared in 50 ml and 100 ml packs for supply to hotels, parlours and caterers, without retail sale price printed on the packages, was assessable under section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 or under section 4 of that Act.

Analysis: Section 4A applies only to goods which are required, under the relevant weights and measures law, to declare retail sale price on the package. The packs in question were found to be catering packs meant for use by hotels, parlours and caterers as part of the food supplied to consumers, and not for retail sale as such. There was no material to show that such packs carried retail sale price or were intended for independent retail sale. The classification of similar goods and the valuation principle were supported by the Board circulars and the Supreme Court decision relied upon by the Commissioner, both of which treated non-retail catering packs as outside section 4A.

Conclusion: The goods were not liable to be valued under section 4A; valuation under section 4 was proper. The revenue appeal failed.

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