Assessable value of flush doors follows normal unpacked sale price where packing was only on specific customer request.

Assessable value of flush doors under section 4 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 was to be based on the normal price at which the goods were ordinarily sold in wholesale trade in unpacked condition, because about 90% of sales were made unpacked and packing was not necessary for the goods. Packing was undertaken only in about 10% of sales at the customer's specific request, so packing charges were not includible in assessable value. The ordinary mode of sale remained unpacked, and valuation had to follow that basis.

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Issues: Whether the assessable value of flush doors under section 4 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, had to be determined on the basis of the normal price at which the goods were ordinarily sold in wholesale trade in an unpacked condition, and whether packing charges were excludible where packing was undertaken only for a small portion of sales on specific request.

Analysis: The goods were sold predominantly, to the extent of about 90%, in an unpacked condition. The material showed that packing was not necessary for the goods and was undertaken only in respect of about 10% of sales at the customer's specific request. On these facts, the ordinary mode of sale was unpacked, and the assessable value had to reflect the normal price of the goods as ordinarily sold without packing.

Conclusion: Packing charges were not includible in the assessable value, and the assessable value was to be taken on the basis of the normal price of the flush doors sold in an unpacked condition. The revision application was allowed.

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