Separately charged freight and pumping charges may fall outside taxable sale price under TNVAT, subject to reconsideration.

Freight and pumping charges separately shown in invoices were disputed as part of the taxable sale price under the TNVAT Rules. The Court noted that a prior Division Bench had held that freight, delivery and transportation costs cannot be included in the sale price when they are separately charged and do not form part of the goods' cost. In light of that position, the authorities were required to reconsider the levy. The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration, with liberty to the assessee to place the relevant decision and objections before the authority.

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Issues: Whether freight charges and pumping charges, when separately shown in the invoices, could be included in the taxable sale price under the TNVAT Rules.

Analysis: The impugned levy proceeded on the footing that freight charges were post-sale charges, but the dispute centered on whether such amounts, when separately charged and not forming part of the cost of the goods, could be brought to tax. The Court noted that a prior Division Bench decision had held that freight, delivery, and transportation costs cannot be included in the sale price where they are separately charged. In view of that legal position, the authorities were required to reconsider the matter.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matters were remanded to the first respondent for fresh consideration, with liberty to the petitioner to place the relevant decision and objections before the authority.

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