Assessable value of excisable goods excludes buyer-owned cylinders supplied for delivery of gas, leaving duty on gas alone.

Buyer-supplied gas cylinders that remained the buyer's property were not part of the manufacturer's packing cost and could not be added to the assessable value of the gas for excise duty. The assessable value under section 4(d)(i) was confined to the goods actually sold, here the gas alone, so duty was to be computed on that basis under Item 14H. A later notification on durable packing did not alter this position where the cost of the buyer-owned cylinders was otherwise not includible in the excisable value. The direction to proceed on provisional assessment by including cylinder cost was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the value of gas cylinders supplied by the buyer and used for delivery of the manufactured gas could be included in the assessable value of the gas for excise duty purposes, and whether the later notification had any bearing on that liability.

Analysis: The cylinders were admittedly supplied by the buyer and belonged to the buyer, so the manufacturer did not incur any packing cost in relation to them. The assessable value under section 4(d)(i) was confined to the value of the goods actually sold, and in the facts the sale was only of gas, not of the buyer-owned cylinders. The subsequent notification concerning durable packing did not govern the legal position where the cost of buyer-supplied cylinders was not otherwise includible in the value of the excisable goods. The duty was to be computed on the gas alone under Item 14H.

Conclusion: The value of the buyer-supplied cylinders could not be included in the assessable value of the gas, and the direction to resort to provisional assessment on that basis was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The challenge succeeded and the excise authorities were restrained from adding the cost of the buyer-owned cylinders to the value of the manufactured gas for duty assessment.

Ratio Decidendi: Where packing containers are supplied by the buyer and remain the buyer's property, their cost is not includible in the assessable value of the excisable goods sold by the manufacturer.

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