TEXMACO LIMITED Vs. COLLECTOR OF CENTRAL EXCISE CALCUTTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arise out of and are directed against the common appellate order dated 21/08/1990 of the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate tribunal, New Delhi ('tribunal' for short) in appeals Nos. ED/sb/t/945/80a and ED/sb/t/586/81a. By the same order another appeal of the appellant was also disposed of but that mat- ter is not carried up in appeal here.

(2.) The appellant, M/s Texmaco Ltd. , pursuant to contracts entered into in this behalf with the Railway Administration fabricated and delivered to the railways wagon bodies mounted on "wheel sets" sup- plied by the railways. The invoices raised by the appellant respecting these wagons reflected only the price of the wagon bodies without including the value of the "wheel sets" on which the wagon bodies were mounted. The goods were cleared for purposes of excise duties on such invoice value. The Revenue raised demand for recovery of short-levy and sought to recover the unpaid duty on the value of the "wheel sets" also. This claim for recovery of the short-levy having been adjudicated against the appellant, an appeal was taken before the tribunal.

(3.) Before the tribunal, it would appear, two contentions were raised: First that the goods manufactured by the appellant were only the wagon bodies mounted on the "wheel sets" supplied by the Railway administration and that, therefore, the assessable value could only be the value of the wagon bodies excluding the "wheel sets" supplied by the railways and, secondly, that at all events the value in excess of the 'invoice value' which represented the price of the wagon bodies was exempt from levy of duty under the Exemption Notification No. 120/75 ce dated 30/04/1975 issued under Rule 8 of the central Excise rules, 1944. What is implicit in the second contention is that, but for the said Notification No. 120/75-CE dated 30/04/1975, the assessable value would otherwise require the exclusion in it of the value of the "wheel sets" also on the premise that the "wheel sets" became an integral part of the wagons, even though the "wheel sets" had been sup- plied free of cost by the railways themselves. The Notification No. 120/75-CE exempted "so much of the duty of excise. . as is in excess of the duty calculated on the basis of invoice prices".