Optional secondary packing costs excluded from excise value when wooden crates were supplied only at buyer's option.

Optional secondary packing costs were excluded from excise assessable value where wooden crates were supplied only at the buyer's choice for additional transport protection. The text applies the principle that non-compulsory packing does not form part of the normal wholesale price at the factory gate. On that basis, the value of the crates was not includible in assessable value, and the differential duty demand was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the cost of wooden crates used only at the option of buyers for secondary packing could be included in the assessable value for excise duty.

Analysis: The packing was not compulsory and was supplied only when customers desired additional protection for transport. The earlier decision in the connected matters had already held that where crates are used only at the buyer's option, their value does not form part of the normal price of the goods in wholesale trade at the factory gate.

Conclusion: The cost of optional secondary packing was not includible in the assessable value, and the demand of differential duty was unsustainable.

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