Buyer-supplied cylinders excluded from assessable value where no related-party link or price influence was shown

Buyer-owned cylinders used for clearance of liquid sulphur dioxide were held not to be includible in assessable value where the buyers were not shown to be related to the assessee and there was no allegation that the transaction price was influenced by extra-commercial consideration. Following the Tribunal's earlier view on sales of excisable goods in buyer-supplied containers, the amortised value of the cylinders could not be added to transaction value for duty purposes. The operative effect is that the assessable value remained confined to the declared transaction value of the goods.

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Issues: Whether the value of cylinders supplied by buyers was includible in the assessable value of liquid sulphur dioxide cleared by the assessee on payment of duty on transaction value.

Analysis: The buyers were neither alleged to be related to the assessee nor was it alleged that the price charged was influenced by any extra-commercial consideration. In the absence of such factors, and following the Tribunal's earlier view on an analogous sale of excisable goods in buyer-supplied containers, the amortised value of the cylinders could not be added to the assessable value.

Conclusion: The value of the buyer-owned cylinders was not includible in the assessable value of the goods.

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