The short but interesting question as to whether Refrigerator is a "packaged commodity" falls within the purview of Section 4A the purpose of Calculation of Central Excise Duty under MRP (Maximum Retail Price) Procedure.

To qualify a product to be assessed under section 4A of Central Excise Act, 1944 for, it is essential that it should fall under Standards of Weight & Measurement Act and rules made there under.

Appellant has contended that Refrigerators were covered and included in the notification issued under section 4A, as, according to the appellant, the Refrigerator is not such a commodity which is sold in a package.  Significantly, the appellant is not aggrieved by its valuation of being under Section 4A(1)&(2) of the Act.  The only complaint that the appellant made is that the appellant should not be required to print the MRP on the package of the Refrigerator manufactured by it. After considering and discussing various issues involved, honorable Supreme Court has held that:

"Once the notification included the Refrigerator, unless the validity of the notification was challenged, the appellant cannot get out of the scope of the notification.  The notification cannot be faulted merely because the appellant feels that the Refrigerator is not a packaged commodity.  We have already shown that the Refrigerator is a 'packaged commodity' and once it is included in the notification, unless the notification is faulted on any other ground, the effect of the notification would remain intact in so far as Refrigerator is concerned.  On that ground also the appeal has to be rejected". 

(For full text of judgment please visit: - 2007 -TMI - 2207 - Supreme Court of India )

(Also see: - List of goods notified to be assessed under MRP (Maximum Retail Price) under Central Excise Schedules)

Packaged commodity designation controls MRP-based excise valuation and obliges manufacturers to comply with notification requirements. Refrigerators included in the notification qualify as a packaged commodity under Section 4A and are therefore subject to MRP-based central excise valuation and associated printing and valuation obligations; inclusion in the notification governs applicability unless the notification's validity is successfully challenged, and mere disagreement with the packaged characterization does not remove the product from scope.