TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 493
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....nge to five orders-in-original by upholding total duty liability of Rs. 67,10,171/- under section 11A of Central Excise Act, 1944, along with appropriate interest under section 11AA of Central Excise Act, 1944, ordered therein, and imposition of penalties under section 11AC of Central Excise Act, 1944 and rule 25 of Central Excise Rules, 2002, are taken up together as the issue in dispute is identical. 2. The appeals pertain to the period June 2006 to October 2010, November 2010 to January 2012, February 2012 to July 2012, August 2012 to January 2013 and February 2013 to December 2013 and to supply of 'compressed natural gas (CNG)' to M/s BEST for consumption at its depots on terms including 'trade discount' of Rs. 0.60 per kg for the peri....
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....'bulk supply', having 'long term' commitments, justifies discount on quantity owing to risk borne by such customer and that, in terms of section 4 of Central Excise Act, 1944, there was no requirement to have uniform price for all customers. She, therefore, argued that the lower authorities have not applied the valuation provisions properly. 4. We have heard Learned Authorised Representative who referred to the findings in the impugned order. 5. We find a strange concatenation of facts here - the facilities offered by the buyer for installation of equipment which is, actually, to the benefit of such buyer and the discount offered by appellant which, certainly, is not gain to the seller - and contrived hyphenating of the two without any ju....
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....other facilities: TMT is incurring all this expenditure in connection with buying CNG from MGL. The cost of these facilities is nothing but additional consideration to MGL in the guise of facilities. Hence, the cost of these facilities has to be added in the price being charged by MGL. .......' 5. We find that the contractual arrangement includes facilitation of the appellant by their customer and that it is the appellant who has foregone consideration to the extent of 'trade discount' which the lower authorities have convinced themselves to be costs of such facilitation. In thus loading this cost to the assessable value, the original authority has failed to determine the value thereof by reference to Central Excise Valuation (Determinati....
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....here are joint tickets prepared outlet-cum-party-wise showing the sale period starting at 0600 hrs. on preceding day and ending at 0600 hrs. on the succeeding day and also show the quantity of CNG dispensed with opening reading, closing reading, total reading and total quantity supplied. Such joint-tickets are also signed by both parties, i.e. appellants and OMCs. Thereafter, the appellants are raising tax invoices upon OMCs on monthly basis with specific business days within which payment has to be made by OMCs and for any delay in payment, interest is also payable by OMCs. The appellants have paid VAT/sales tax on their sale of CNG to OMCs, as evidenced from the invoices. Further, sales invoices of OMCs for resale of CNG to ultimate buyer....
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....ly CNG through the outlets owned and operated by PPs and CNG is directly supplied by PPs to the ultimate consumers/vehicles users from their outlets for and on behalf of MGL, under the invoices/bills/cash memos of MGL and the price charged in those bills/invoices/cash memos are the retail sales price or maximum recommended price determined by MGL, from time to time. In a true sense, the customers/vehicle users at the outlets of PPs are buying CNG from MGL, through the PPs. The privity of contract is between MGL and those buyers and those sales are directly recorded in the Books of Account of MGL and not in the Books of PPs, as there is no sale and purchase of CNG by PPs and PPs act only as an agent of MGL on commission basis. The entire sal....
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....ed in the invoice within ten days from the date of invoices; it is specifically stated in the agreements between OMCs and MGL that during the term of the agreements OMCs shall not hold out to be as agents of MGL and it is clearly understood that this agreement is on principal-to-principal basis and MGL shall not be liable for any of the acts of omission/commission of OMCs. We also find from record that when CNG is supplied by MGL through PPs, there is no sale between MGL and PPs, as the sale takes place between MGL and the ultimate customers/vehicle users and the PPs act as agents of MGL; that the PPs were/are issuing cash memos/invoices/bills of MGL, when they supply CNG to customers/vehicle owners; that the PPs are acting as agents of MGL....