Invoice-price exemption allows correction of mistaken invoice entries where the true contracted sale price was lower.

Under Notification No. 120/76-C.E., duty was required to be assessed on the true invoice price, and a mistaken higher figure entered in the invoice could be corrected where the manufacturer and buyer had actually agreed a lower price with retrospective effect. Seeking correction of the erroneous invoice did not amount to shifting from the invoice-price scheme to the price-list scheme. Clause (iv) of the proviso did not apply, because a contractual price fixed or varied in the sale agreement did not, by itself, create the kind of commercial or financial relationship that would disqualify the invoice price. The assessee was entitled to refund of the excess duty.

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Issues: Whether the assessee, while continuing under Notification No. 120/76-C.E., was entitled to refund of excess duty on the ground that the invoice showed a higher price due to error, though the parties had agreed to a reduced price with retrospective effect.

Analysis: The exemption under the notification operated on the basis of the true invoice price. If the invoice did not correctly reflect the price actually agreed between the manufacturer and the buyer, the higher figure entered by mistake could be corrected to reflect the real state of affairs. Seeking correction of an erroneous invoice did not amount to shifting from the invoice-price scheme to the price-list scheme. Clause (iv) of the proviso was also inapplicable because a price fixed or varied under a sale contract is not, by itself, a disqualifying commercial or financial relationship beyond the sale relationship itself.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to refund of the excess duty claimed.

Ratio Decidendi: Under an invoice-price exemption, duty must be assessed on the true invoice price, and a mistaken invoice entry may be corrected where the agreed sale price was different; a contractual price variation does not, by itself, attract the proviso excluding influenced invoice prices.

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