Section 4A valuation requires a statutory retail-price mandate and retail sale; bulk institutional footwear sales did not qualify.

Valuation under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 applies only to notified goods covered by the packaged commodities regime and subject to a legal requirement to declare retail price. Sales to institutional consumers are exempt under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, and bulk supplies to military and paramilitary institutions were not retail sales to the final consumer. Mere affixation of MRP did not attract Section 4A without a statutory mandate and a qualifying retail sale, so the notification benefit was unavailable.

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Issues: Whether footwear sold in bulk to military and paramilitary institutions could claim valuation under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 on the basis of maximum retail price affixation and the relevant notification.

Analysis: Valuation under Section 4A applies only when the goods are notified and are of the kind to which the packaged commodities regime applies, together with the statutory requirement to declare retail price on the package. The applicable legal framework under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 exempts sales to institutional consumers. The purchasers in the present transactions were institutional consumers purchasing in bulk for further distribution, and therefore the sales were not retail sales to the final consumer. Mere affixation of MRP did not, by itself, attract Section 4A, because the decisive requirement is a legal mandate to affix retail price and a qualifying retail sale.

Conclusion: The goods were not eligible for assessment under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and the benefit of the notification was unavailable.

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