Erection and commissioning charges excluded from excise assessable value when they are distinct from the manufactured goods.

Erection and commissioning charges for machinery installed at the customer's site were held not to form part of the assessable value for excise duty, because they were distinct from the value of the manufactured goods. The Tribunal followed its earlier view in the same party's appeals and reiterated that such post-clearance, site-specific charges cannot be added to assessable value. The departmental argument that commissioning was compulsory in every case did not alter the valuation analysis, and the charges remained excluded from duty computation.

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Issues: Whether erection and commissioning charges collected by the manufacturer were includible in the assessable value of machinery cleared from the factory.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the same issue had already been decided in the party's own earlier appeals, where such charges were held not liable to be included in the value of machinery for levy of excise duty. It further observed that it had consistently taken the view that erection and commissioning charges relating to machinery installed at the customer's site could not form part of the assessable value. The departmental attempt to distinguish the matter on the basis that erection and commissioning was compulsory in every case was not accepted.

Conclusion: The erection and commissioning charges were not includible in the assessable value, and the departmental appeals failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Charges for erection and commissioning of machinery at the customer's site do not form part of the assessable value for excise duty where they are distinct from the value of the manufactured goods.

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