Cess valuation under industrial law excludes excise duty and sales tax unless they form part of wholesale cash price.

For cess computation under Section 9 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, the assessable value is the wholesale cash price at the place of manufacture and time of removal. Excise duty and sales tax form part of that price only if they ordinarily enter into the wholesale cash price of the goods. The exclusion of such levies in Section 4(4)(d)(ii) of the Central Excise Act does not automatically govern cess valuation under a different statute, because that exclusion operates only within the Central Excise Act scheme. On that basis, excise duty and sales tax were not automatically required to be added to the assessable value for cess.

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Issues: Whether, for computing cess under Section 9 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, excise duty and sales tax were required to be added to the assessable value.

Analysis: The governing test under Section 9 is the wholesale cash price for which the goods are sold or capable of being sold at the place of manufacture and at the time of removal. Excise duty and sales tax form part of that price only if they ordinarily enter into the wholesale cash price of the goods. The exclusion of such levies in Section 4(4)(d)(ii) of the Central Excise Act does not, by itself, control the computation of cess under a different statute, because that exclusion operates only within the scheme of the Central Excise Act.

Conclusion: Excise duty and sales tax were not automatically required to be added to the assessable value for cess under Section 9; the Revenue's contention was rejected.

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