2016 (10) TMI 650

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....arts of the country. The sales were effected through dealers and consignment agents appointed by them. The dispute in the present case is the eligibility of deduction of 2% or 1% to them as trade discount from the sale price of depot. This deduction was claimed on all excise invoices even though no trade discount was allowed on all commercial invoices. Proceedings were initiated against the appellants for disallowing the deductions from the assessable value. The original authority/first appellate authority held that the said deductions were not eligible for duty calculations. On appeal, the Tribunal vide Final Order dated 29.12.2006 remanded the matter with reference to the six show cause notices agitated by the appellants in appeals. The p....

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....rs as transactions' is factually and legally not tenable; (ii) The del-credre risk has limited applicability for those transactions where sales to the customers are arranged by the dealers and in such cases the appellants are not contesting the disallowance of discount, as such deduction can be correctly categorised as 'commission' paid to the agents; (iii) In case of supplies made at the factory gate to the dealers, there was actually a concluded sale between the appellants and the dealers. Various invoices produced as per record will categorically show the nature of such sales and the discounts passed on to the dealers are clearly mentioned in the invoices; and (iv) Without prejudice to any of the points on merit, the appellants....

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....egarding time limit, as claimed by the appellants. On the issue of the nature of agreement between the appellants and various dealers, we have examined the same with reference to sample agreements submitted in appeal papers and during the course of hearing. The whole dispute on valuation revolves around the nature of transaction between the appellants and the dealers. The case of the appellants is that, the dealers have substantially acted in most of the transactions as buyers of goods for further re-sale to retailers and others. In some cases, they also acted as agents for arranging sales to buyers from the appellants. On perusal of the agreement,  we find that one of the terms of the condition is that the dealer shall be allowed a tr....

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....le 173C(3A) have been regularly filed by the appellants and we have perused the various declarations filed by them. Such declarations were filed on 15.04.1997, 12.11.1998, 12.06.2000 and 27.10.2000 indicating the details, as required in the proforma. We note that the listed address of the dealers and the sales policy were also declared to the Department. In the impugned order, it is recorded that the jurisdictional Central Excise authority was asked to verify the records to ascertain the facts. But it was informed that despite best efforts no records of the notice for the relevant period were traceable in the Range Office. In the absence of such verification, the original authority went ahead and formed his opinion stating that the appellan....