Excise duty on closing work-in-progress cannot be loaded without payment, and matching opening-stock adjustment is required.

Where no excise duty had been paid on closing work-in-progress, there was no basis to estimate and load excise duty into closing stock under section 145A. The Tribunal also noted that any inclusion in closing stock would require a corresponding adjustment in opening stock, so the exercise would not create a net difference. Applying the same view as in the assessee's own earlier case, the deletion of the addition was upheld and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the deletion of additions made by invoking section 145A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, by loading excise duty on closing stock of work in progress, was justified.

Analysis: The issue had already been decided in the assessee's own case. The Tribunal reiterated that where no excise duty had been paid on the closing work in progress, there was no basis for estimating and loading excise duty on that stock. It was also noted that if excise duty were to be included in closing stock, a corresponding adjustment would equally be required in opening stock, leaving no net difference in the result.

Conclusion: The deletion of the addition was upheld and the Revenue's challenge was rejected.

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