Assessable value includes servicing and filling charges incurred to make goods ready for sale and delivery.

Servicing and filling charges incurred to place sulphuric acid in durable containers and make it ready for sale and delivery were treated as part of the process of bringing the goods to market, not as post-manufacturing expenses. As a result, those charges were includible in the assessable value for excise duty. The refund claim was therefore rejected because the charges formed part of the value on which duty was chargeable.

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Issues: Whether servicing and filling charges incurred for filling sulphuric acid in durable containers and making them ready for sale and delivery were deductible from assessable value for excise duty purposes.

Analysis: The charges were incurred in the course of making the goods ready for sale and delivery, and therefore could not be treated as post-manufacturing expenses. They formed part of the value on which duty was chargeable.

Conclusion: The servicing and filling charges were includible in the assessable value. The refund claim was rightly rejected and the appeals failed.

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