TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 1602
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.... of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. As a manufacturer of excisable goods, the appellants are duly registered with jurisdictional Central Excise department vide Central Excise Registration No. AAACK7824KXM001 and also discharge appropriate duty liability on removal of the said final products out of their factory premises. 2.3 In this case, the Government of Goa had framed a Scheme, known as "Goa Value Added Tax Deferment-cum-Net Present Value Compulsory Payment Scheme, 2005" (for short referred to as "Goa VAT NPV"), as a part of Goa Government's investment promotion and industrialization efforts undertaken with an objective to promote expansion of industries in the State of Goa, issued under Notification No. 4/5/2005-Fin(R&C)(13). The State Government had framed an industrial policy by providing benefits or concessions in the form of tax exemption for a period of 15 years, operative during 01.07.1983 to 31.03.2000, reckoned from the date of its first sale of commercial production under Entry 68 of the Second Schedule of the Goa VAT/Sales tax law. Such exemption was periodically modified as per the policy in force in the State of Goa and this tax waiver ....
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....y for the extended period of limitation; however, for the period subsequent to 01.07.2000, he had confirmed the demand. Further, he did not impose penalty on the appellants-assessee. Being aggrieved with the impugned order, the appellant assessee had filed this appeal before the Tribunal. 3. Heard both sides and perused the records of the case. 4.1 We find that the issue of demand of central excise duty on non-inclusion of sales tax/VAT benefits in the assessable value arising out of the present dispute is no more res integra, in view of the judgements relied upon by the appellants in the cases of Commissioner of Central Excise, Raigad Vs. Uttam Galva Steels Ltd. - 2016 (331) E.L.T. 261 (Tri.-Mumbai); PGP Glass Private Ltd., Vs. CCE & ST, Vadodara - 2023 (7) TMI 659 (CESTAT Ahmedabad); Rational Engineers Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Thane-I - 2023 (11) TMI 363 - CESTAT Mumbai; and Mahindra Steel Service Centre Ltd., Vs. Principal Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise, Bhopal - (2024) 17 Centax 241 (Tri. Del.). The issue decided in those cases was that incentives/subsidy of VAT/Sales Tax refunded by the State Government at a percentage of the tax paid by the a....
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....a particular transaction, the amount of excise duty or tax actually paid at the concessional rate shall only be allowed to be deducted from price. The assessee cannot claim that the excise duty or tax payable at the "normal rate" should be allowed to be deducted. The words "actually paid" have, therefore, been used to the definition of transaction value to reflect the legislative intention as explained above. 11. The words "actually payable" in the context of the amount of duty of excise, sales tax and other taxes would normally come into play only in those situations where the amount of excise, sales tax or other taxes is not paid at the time of transaction but paid subsequently, for example, sales tax payable under a deferment scheme." It will be seen that in Para 11, the Board has observed that the words actually payable in the context of the amount of duty of excise, sales tax and other taxes would normally come into play only on those situations where the amount of excise, sales tax or other taxes is not paid at the time of transaction but paid subsequently, for example, sales tax payable under a deferment scheme. Thus even at the time of introduction of new ....
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.... (7) Receipt of these instructions may be acknowledged." Thus Board was of the view that interest earned cannot be added to the assessable value in such facts and circumstances both under Valuation Rules, 1975 or Valuation Rules, 2000 i.e. under old Section 4 or new Section 4. 38.3 It would thus be seen from the above three circulars that the Board has all along been of the view that under the deferment scheme of sales tax, the sales tax is payable though after a long period of time and since the sales tax is payable, the same will stand excluded from the normal value or the transaction value." 4.3 The relevant extract of the Final Order No. 51633/2023 dated 11.12.2023 decided by the Tribunal in the case of Mahindra Steel Service Centre Ltd., (supra) is as follows: "10. The contention of the appellant is that when VAT/CST was actually paid to the State exchequer, the question of including the incentive/capital subsidy received from the State Government in the transaction value does not arise as VAT/CST was not exempted on the goods manufactured and cleared by the appellant. 11. This issue was considered in favour of the appellant in the inte....
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....s was paid by the assessee and the remaining 75% of the amount was retained by the assessee, which amount was treated to be the price of the goods. In the promotion policy involved in the present case, the subsidy does not reduce the sales tax that is required to be paid by the assessee as the entire amount of sales tax collected by the assessee from the customer is paid. The subsidy amount, therefore, cannot be included in the transaction value for the purpose of levy of central excise duty under section 4 of the Excise Act." (Emphasis Supplied) 12. The reference was, accordingly, answered holding that: ** "32. ** a- Subsidy under the promotion policy does not reduce the selling price; b- The amount of subsidy under the promotion policy is not an additional consideration; ** ** d- The subsidy amount under the promotion policy does not affect the selling price of the goods;" 13. In view of the aforesaid order, the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that incentive/capital subsidy received from the State Government cannot be included in the transaction value has to be accepted. 14. The order d....