Assessable value in excise valuation excludes separately purchased plastic caps sold with aluminium collapsible tubes.

The assessable value of aluminium collapsible tubes for central excise did not include the value of separately purchased plastic caps sold with the tubes. The issue was treated as settled by an earlier Supreme Court ruling and the Tribunal's prior order, both recognising that the caps were not part of the tubes' assessable value. On that basis, the cap value was excluded from central excise valuation of the tubes, and the appeal succeeded.

---

---

Issues: Whether the value of plastic caps sold with aluminium collapsible tubes was includible in the assessable value of the tubes for central excise purposes.

Analysis: The goods in question were aluminium collapsible tubes liable to central excise duty under Item 27 of the Central Excise Tariff. The plastic caps were purchased separately from the market and were sold along with the tubes. The question whether the cap value formed part of the assessable value was treated as settled by the earlier Supreme Court decision and the Tribunal's own prior order, both of which held that such cap value was not includible in the assessable value of the tubes.

Conclusion: The value of the plastic caps was not includible in the assessable value of the collapsible tubes, and the appeal succeeded.

---