Assessable value of trailers fitted with I.C. engines must include engine value; separate duty payment does not support refund.

The exemption notification and tariff relief applied only to motor vehicles and did not extend to trailers fitted with I.C. engines. Because the trailers were cleared in that condition, their assessable value had to be determined on the basis of the complete article at the time of clearance. The prior separate purchase of the engines on payment of duty did not permit exclusion of engine value from the trailers' assessable value and did not create a right to refund. The claim for reduction of assessable value and refund was rejected, and duty assessment on the trailers was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the assessable value of motor vehicle trailers fitted with I.C. engines was liable to reduction by excluding the value of the engines and whether the excise duty paid thereon was refundable under the cited exemption notifications.

Analysis: The relief in the notification and the tariff item was confined to motor vehicles and did not extend to trailers. The trailers were cleared as fitted with I.C. engines, and the assessable value was to be determined on that basis at the time of clearance. The fact that the engines had been separately purchased on payment of duty did not justify exclusion of their value from the assessable value of the trailers or entitle the petitioners to refund.

Conclusion: The claim for refund and for reduction of assessable value was rejected, and the assessment of duty on the trailers fitted with I.C. engines was upheld in favour of the Revenue.

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