Packing charges included in assessable value cannot be separately demanded where the same issue was already decided in the assessee's favour.

Packing charges already included in the assessable value could not be separately demanded where the same issue had earlier been decided in the assessee's favour for the relevant period. The recorded finding was that no separate packing charges were incurred at the depot for packing, and the Revenue's challenge on the identical issue had no merit. On that basis, the impugned order was set aside and relief was granted to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the demand by inclusion of packing charges was sustainable in view of the earlier decision on the same issue and the assessee's contention on limitation and penalty.

Analysis: The assessee's case was that the packing charges had already been taken into account in the assessable value and that the same issue had been decided by the Tribunal in its favour for the relevant period. The earlier Tribunal findings recorded that there was no dispute that the packing charges for the stated period had already been included in the assessable value and that no separate packing charges were incurred at the depot for packing, with no merit found in the Revenue's appeal. Relying on those findings on the identical issue, the appellate authority found no merit in the impugned order.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and relief was granted to the assessee.

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