Ex-factory price governs depot clearances when a normal factory-gate wholesale price is ascertainable under excise valuation principles.

For excisable goods sold partly at the factory gate and partly through depots, valuation for depot clearances was to be based on the ascertainable ex-factory wholesale price where that normal price was available. The text applies the settled Section 4 principle that factory-gate wholesale sales remain the relevant basis for assessable value, and the depot selling price does not become the valuation basis merely because some clearances are routed through depots. The valuation adopted in the impugned orders was therefore treated as unsustainable on the stated facts.

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Issues: Whether, for excisable goods sold partly at the factory gate and partly through depots, the assessable value for depot clearances must be taken as the ex-factory price when such price is ascertainable.

Analysis: The demands related to a period prior to the introduction of the depot-sale valuation concept. The record showed that the assessee had an ascertainable ex-factory wholesale price for similar goods, and the valuation issue was governed by the principle that where normal price at the factory gate is available, the actual depot price is not the basis for valuation. The reasoning was supported by the settled position under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and by the principle that wholesale sales at the factory gate remain relevant even if sales also occur through depots.

Conclusion: The assessable value for depot clearances was required to be taken on the basis of the ascertainable ex-factory price, not the depot selling price, and the valuation adopted in the impugned orders was unsustainable.

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