TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (10) TMI 613
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....hedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. Intelligence revealed that M/s Ispat were indulging in evasion of central excise duty by a mis-declaration that their factory gate was the place of removal, and not the buyer's premises, consequent to which freight charges recovered from their buyers was sought to be added in determining the amount of central excise duty payable by them. The period involved in the present appeal is from 28.9.1996 to 31.3.2003. Five show cause notices were issued to the respondents stating that the property in goods manufactured by them remained with Ispat while the goods were in transit as Ispat had taken out an insurance policy to cover the risk of loss or damage to the goods while in transit. Purchase orders as well as agreements with transporters did not suggest that the transporters were taking delivery on behalf of the buyers. All this was corroborated by a statement made by Shri S.P. Dahiwade, Deputy General Manager, stating that the ownership of the goods in transit remained with Ispat. It was thus stated that the buyer's place or the place of delivery should be treated as the place of removal of the goods for the purpose of Section 4 of....
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....ng delivery on behalf of the buyer. Above all, Shri S.P. Dahiwade, Deputy General Manager, Excise, had clearly admitted in his statement dated 5.2.2001, that till the material is delivered to the customer, ownership of the goods remains with Ispat. Further, since payment terms were 30 days after the receipt of the material and not 30 days after dispatch of the material, it is clear that property in the goods remained in Ispat until payment was made. The Commissioner, therefore, held: "In the facts and circumstances of the case as discussed above, the charges framed under the said Show Cause Notices remain substantiated. (i) I hold Customers premises as actual place of removal instead of factory gate of M/s. Ispat of terms of sub clause (iii) of Section 4(4) (b) of Central Excise Act, 1944 and in term of Sub Clause (3) (c) of Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 for the period from 28.09.96 to 30.06.2000 and from 01.07.2000 onwards respectively. (ii) I confirm demand of Central Excise duty amounting to Rs. 2,43,31,003/- (Rs. Two Crores Forty Three Lakhs Thirty One Thousand Three only), (Rs.2,16,09,006.00/- + Rs. 1,77,828/- + Rs. 8,97,780/- + Rs. 12,91....
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....ise, 2002 (146) ELT 497 (S.C.), clearly laid down that for the period in question Section 4 of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 made it clear that since the buyer's place was in fact the place of removal of Ispat's goods, freight payments being payments made prior to the goods being sold to the buyers are liable to be included in the central excise duty payable by M/s. Ispat. He relied on two recent judgments delivered by this Court to buttress his submissions. 8. Shri S.K. Bagaria, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of Ispat, painstakingly took this Court through Section 4 of the Central Excise and Salt Act as originally enacted together with all the amendments made thereto, up to date. According to learned counsel, the period involved in the present case divides itself into two periods - the period from 28.9.1996 to 30.6.2000 and the period 1.7.2000 to 31.3.2003. According to learned counsel, on a correct construction of Section 4 as it stood at the relevant time in both periods and on a reading of Rule 5 of the Central Excise Rules, it is clear that the buyer's premises can never in law be the place of removal of excisable goods. So far as the f....
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....le with duty at a rate dependent on the value of the article, such value shall be deemed to be-- (a) the wholesale cash price for which an article of the like kind and quality is sold or is capable of being sold at the time of the removal of the article chargeable with duty from the factory or any other premises of manufacture or production for delivery at the place of manufacture or production, or if a wholesale market does not exist for such article at such place, at the nearest place where such market exists, or (b) where such price is not ascertainable, the price at which an article of the like kind and quality is sold or is capable of being sold by the manufacturer or producer, or his agent, at the time of the removal of the article chargeable with duty from such factory or other premises for delivery at the place of manufacture or production, or if such article is not sold or is not capable of being sold at such place, at any other place nearest thereto. Explanation.--In determining the price of any article under this section, no abatement or deduction shall be allowed except in respect of trade discount and the amount of duty payable at the time of....
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....so fixed, shall, in relation to the goods so sold, be deemed to be the normal price thereof; (iii) Where the assessee so arranges that the goods are generally not sold by him in the course of wholesale trade except to or through a related person, the normal price of the goods sold by the assessee to or through such related person shall be deemed to be the price at which they are ordinarily sold by the related person in the course of wholesale trade at the time of removal, to dealers (not being related persons) or where such goods are not sold to such dealers, to dealers (being related persons), who sell such goods in retail; (b) Where the normal price of such goods is not ascertainable for the reason, that such goods are not sold or for any other reason, the nearest ascertainable equivalent thereof determined in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) Where, in relation to any excisable goods the price thereof for delivery at the place of removal is not known and the value thereof is determined with reference to the price for delivery at a place other than the place of removal, the cost of transportation from the place of removal to the place of delivery sh....
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....trade at such place, after deducting therefrom the cost of transportation of the excisable article from the factory gate to such place. The claim to other deductions will be dealt with later." [at para 27] The Court further went on to say: "Where the sale in the course of wholesale trade is effected by the assessee through its sales organisation at a place or places outside the factory gate, the expenses incurred by the assessee upto the date of delivery under the aforesaid heads cannot, on the same grounds, be deducted. But the assessee will be entitled to a deduction on account of the cost of transportation of the excisable article from the factory gate to the place or places where it is sold. The cost of transportation will include the cost of insurance on the freight for transportation of the goods from the factory gate to the place or places of delivery." [at para 50] 14. This view of the law was reiterated in Government of India v. Madras Rubber Factory Ltd., (1995) 4 SCC 349. Interestingly, in paragraph 39 of the judgment, cost of transportation from the factory gate to the place of removal not forming part of excise duty was conceded by the revenue. 15. Se....
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....ll have to be substituted by the words "have been sold" which would then possibly have reference to the buyer's premises. 17. It is clear, therefore, that as a matter of law with effect from the Amendment Act of 28.9.1996, the place of removal only has reference to places from which the manufacturer is to sell goods manufactured by him, and can, in no circumstances, have reference to the place of delivery which may, on facts, be the buyer's premises. 18. By an Amendment Act which came into effect on 1.7.2000, Section 4 was substituted yet again as follows:- "Section 4. Valuation of excisable goods for purposes of charging of duty of excise. - (1) Where under this Act, the duty of excise is chargeable on any excisable goods with reference to their value, then, on each removal of the goods, such value shall - (a) In a case where the goods are sold by the assessee, for delivery at the time and place of the removal, the assessee and the buyer of the goods are not related and the price is the sole consideration for the sale, by the transaction value; (b) In any other case, including the case where the goods are not sold, be the value determined i....
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....cisable goods. The actual price that is paid or payable on each removal of goods becomes the transaction value. Interestingly, it will be noticed that under Section 4(3)(c), the place of removal is defined as it had been defined in the substituted Section 4 (by the 1973 Amendment) before its further amendment in 1996. What is conspicuous by its absence in the present Section is Section 4(2) and sub-section (b)(iii) in the previous Section 4 (after its amendment in 1996). It is clear therefore that for the second period in question in the present case, namely, 1.7.2000 to 31.3.2003, the depot, premises of a consignment agent or any other place from which excisable goods are to be sold after their clearance from the factory are no longer places of removal. Also, the definition of "transaction value" makes it clear that freight or transportation expenses are not included in calculating the excise duty payable. 20. It is necessary also to refer to Rules 5 and 7 of the Central Excise Valuation (Determination of Price of Excisable Goods) Rules, 2000 which came into force on the same date as the amendment to Section 4 i.e. 1.7.2000. These Rules read as under:- "Rule 5. ....
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....tral Excise Rules was substituted, with effect from 1.3.2003, to read as follows: "Rule 5. Where any excisable goods are sold in the circumstances specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Act except the circumstances in which the excisable goods are sold for delivery at a place other than the place of removal, then the value of such excisable goods shall be deemed to be the transaction value, excluding the cost of transportation from the place of removal upto the place of delivery of such excisable goods. Explanation 1 - "Cost of transportation" includes - (i) the actual cost of transportation; and (ii) in case where freight is averaged, the cost of transportation calculated in accordance with generally accepted principles of costing. Explanation 2 - For removal of doubts, it is clarified that the cost of transportation from the factory to the place of removal, where the factory is not the place of removal, shall not be excluded for the purposes of determining the value of the excisable goods." 23. It is clear, therefore, that on and after 14.5.2003, the position as it obtained from 28.9.1996 to 1.7.2000 has now ....
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....be untenable. The two aspects have been mixed up -- one relating to the transaction of sale of the goods and the other arranging for the transit insurance for the buyer and charging the amount expended for the purpose from him separately." [at para 8] "From the above passage it is clear that ownership in the property may not have any relevance insofar as insurance of goods sold during transit is concerned. It would therefore not be lawful to draw an inference of retention of ownership in the property sold by the seller merely by reason of the fact that the seller had insured such goods during transit to the buyer. It is not necessary that insurance of the goods and the ownership of the property insured must always go together. It may be depending upon various facts and circumstances of a particular transaction and terms and conditions of sale. A reference has also been made to Colinvauz's Law of Insurance, 6th Edn. by Robert Merkin to indicate that there may be insurance to cover the interest of others, that is to say, not necessarily the person insuring the interest must be the owner of the property." [at para 10] 26. This Court then went on to follow Bombay Tyre I....
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...." was extended. According to the Tribunal the result was that only the transport charges from the place of removal to the place of delivery were to be excluded from the value. We have heard the parties at length. In our view, Section 4 has to be read as a whole. Under Section 4(1)(a), the normal price is the price at which goods are ordinarily sold by the assessee to a buyer in the course of wholesale trade for delivery at the time and place of removal, where the buyer is not a related person and price is the sole consideration for sale. Therefore, the normal price is the price at the "time of delivery" and "at the place of removal". Before the amendment, the place of removal was only the factory or any other place or premises where the excisable goods were produced or manufactured or a warehouse or any other place or premises where any excisable goods have been permitted to be deposited without payment of duty. Thus, the price would be the price at that place. By the amendment proviso (i-a) to Section 4(1)(a) has been added. Under Section 4(1)(a)(i-a) where the price of the goods is different for different places of removal, each such price was deemed to be the normal pri....
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.... be so includible as per the said judgment." This judgment, therefore, also holds that even in a depot sale, freight and insurance for delivery to customers from the depot to their premises cannot possibly be included, and followed the Escorts JCB case supra. 31. With this we come to two recent judgments of this Court. In CCE & Customs v. Roofit Industries Ltd., (2015) 319 E.L.T. 221 (S.C.), this Court, after distinguishing the Escorts JCB's case, stated:- "The principle of law, thus, is crystal clear. It is to be seen as to whether as to at what point of time sale is effected, namely, whether it is on factory gate or at a later point of time i.e. when the delivery of the goods is effected to the buyer at his premises. This aspect is to be seen in the light of the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act by applying the same to the facts of each case to determine as to when the ownership in the goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer. The charges which are to be added have put up to the stage of the transfer of that ownership inasmuch as once the ownership in goods stands transferred to the buyer, any expenditure incurred thereafter has to be on buyer's ....
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....ons 20 to 24 are rules for ascertaining the intention of the parties as to the time at which the property in the goods is to pass to the buyer." These are clear finding of facts on the aforesaid lines recorded by the Adjudicating Authority. However, CESTAT did not take into consideration all these aspects and allowed the appeal of the assessee by merely referring to the judgment in Escorts JCB Ltd. [(2003) 1 SCC 281 : (2002) 146 ELT 31] Obviously the exact principle laid down in the judgment has not been appreciated by CESTAT." [at paras 12 - 15] 32. It will be seen that this is a decision distinguishing the Escorts JCB's case on facts. It was found that goods were to be delivered only at the place of the buyer and the price of the goods was inclusive of transportation charges. As transit damage on the assessee's account would imply that till the goods reached their destination, ownership in the goods remained with the supplier, namely, the assessee, freight charges would have to be added as a component of excise duty. Further, as per the terms of the payment clause contained in the procurement order, payment was only to be made after receipt of goods at the pre....